Citation: Yue Zhang, Xiaoya Fan, Xun He, Tingyu Yan, Yongchao Yao, Dongdong Zheng, Jingxiang Zhao, Qinghai Cai, Qian Liu, Luming Li, Wei Chu, Shengjun Sun, Xuping Sun. Ambient electrosynthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate over Mo₂C nanosheet[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2024, 35(8): 109806. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2024.109806 shu

Ambient electrosynthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate over Mo₂C nanosheet

Yue Zhang ^a ,
Xiaoya Fan ^b ,
Xun He ^b ,
Tingyu Yan ^a ,
Yongchao Yao ^b ,
Dongdong Zheng ^b ,
Jingxiang Zhao ^{a, *,} ,
Qinghai Cai ^a ,
Qian Liu ^c ,
Luming Li ^c ,
Wei Chu ^c ,
Shengjun Sun ^d ,
Xuping Sun ^{b, d, *,}

a.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Key Laboratory of Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
b.
Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
c.
Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China
d.
College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Shandong Normal University, Ji'nan 250014, China

zhaojingxiang@hrbnu.edu.cn

xpsun@uestc.edu.cn

Received Date: 15 January 2024
Revised Date: 20 March 2024
Accepted Date: 20 March 2024
Available Online: 22 March 2024

Figures(4)

Electrocatalytic synthesis of urea through CN bond formation, converting carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrate (NO₃^–), presents a promising, less energy-intensive alternative to industrial urea production process. In this communication, we report the application of Mo₂C nanosheets-decorated carbon sheets (Mo₂C/C) as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for facilitating CN coupling in ambient urea electrosynthesis. In CO₂-saturated 0.2 mol/L Na₂SO₄ solution containing 0.05 mol/L NO₃^–, the Mo₂C/C catalyst achieves an impressive urea yield of 579.13 µg h^–1 mg^–1 with high Faradaic efficiency of 44.80% at –0.5 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Further theoretical calculations reveal that the multiple Mo active sites enhance the formation of *CO and *NH₂ intermediates and facilitate their CN coupling. This research propels the use of Mo₂C-based electrodes in electrocatalysis and accentuates the capabilities of binary metal-based catalysts in CN coupling reactions.
- Mo₂C,
- Multiple active sites,
- C-N coupling,
- Electrocatalysis,
- Urea synthesis,
- Density functional theory calculation
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

Ambient electrosynthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate over Mo2C nanosheet

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Ambient electrosynthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrate over Mo₂C nanosheet