Atomic‐Scale Mott–Schottky Analogy in SnCu Nanoalloy Promote High‐Efficiency Urea Electrosynthesis at Ultralow Potential
Pingyi Feng, Buqi Ke, Shao Wang, Yanxu Chen, Mingyu Cheng, Zechuan Dai, Bocheng Zhang, Yifan Li, Genqiang Zhang
Abstract
Abstract Electrocatalytic urea synthesis from CO 2 and NO 3 − offers a sustainable strategy to address environmental challenges and growing urea demand. However, current systems suffer inefficient C‐N coupling due to poor selectivity toward critical C/N‐intermediates. Herein, we engineered atomic‐scale Mott–Schottky analogy in SnCu nanoalloy to create electron‐enriched Cu sites, enabling remarkable urea production through quadruple synergy. Sn 2 Cu delivered exceptional urea yield (28.9 mmol h −1 g cat. −1 ) with 46.7% Faradaic efficiency (FE) in H‐cell, while demonstrating practical potential with superior catalytic performance (yield: 72.6 mmol h −1 g cat. −1 , FE: 41.3%, stability: 60 h) at −0.52 V in flow cell. In‐situ synchrotron radiation‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations revealed electron‐enriched Cu active sites enhanced CO 2 /NO 3 − co‐adsorption and *CO coverage, while steering reaction pathway toward *CO‐*NHO coupling and suppressing hydrogen evolution, thereby reducing rate‐determining step energy barrier and prioritizing C‐N coupling. This work develops a structure–adsorption‐reactivity framework, providing fundamental guidance for advanced urea electrocatalyst design.