Trace Cu‐Induced Low C─N Coupling Barrier on Amorphous Co Metallene Boride for Boosting Electrochemical Urea Production
Yueji Wu, Han Lin, Qiqi Mao, Hongjie Yu, Kai Deng, Jianguo Wang, Liang Wang, Ziqiang Wang, Hongjing Wang
Abstract
Abstract The electrochemical C─N coupling of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrate(NO 3 ‐ ) is an alternative strategy to the traditional high−energy industrial pathway for urea synthesis, which urgently requires the design of efficient catalysts to achieve high yield and Faraday efficiency (FE). Here, amorphous low‐content copper‐doped cobalt metallene boride ( a ‐Cu 0.1 CoB x metallene) is designed for urea synthesis via electrochemical C─N coupling. The a ‐Cu 0.1 CoB x metallene can drive electrocatalytic C─N coupling of CO 2 and NO 3 − for urea synthesis in CO 2 ‐saturated 0.1 m KNO 3 electrolyte, with 27.7% of FE and 312 µg h −1 mg −1 cat. of yield at −0.5 V, as well as superior cycling stability. The in situ Fourier transform infrared and theoretical calculations reveal that electronic effect between Cu, Co, and B causes Cu and Co as dual active sites to promote the adsorption of reactants. Furthermore, the introduced trace Cu reduces the reaction energy barrier of the C─N coupling to facilitate urea synthesis. This work provides a promising route for the optimization of Co‐based metallene for the electrosynthesis of urea through C─N coupling.