Surface engineering on bulk Cu2O for efficient electrosynthesis of urea
Zechuan Dai, Yanxu Chen, Huaikun Zhang, Mingyu Cheng, Bocheng Zhang, Pingyi Feng, Yafei Feng, Genqiang Zhang
Abstract
Electrochemical urea synthesis has recently emerged as a fascinating energy-efficient alternative route, while it remains challenging to achieve simultaneously high production rate and Faradaic efficiency. Herein, we realize an energy-favorable electrochemical C-N coupling path through CO2 and NO3− co-reduction at the heterointerfaces of Cu/Cu2O microparticles, generated by in-situ electrochemical engineering on bulk Cu2O. We achieve urea production rate of 632.1 μg h−1mgcat.−1 with a corresponding Faradaic efficiency of 42.3% at −0.3 V (versus RHE) under ambient conditions. Operando synchrotron radiation-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, along with theoretical calculations, reveals the coupling of intermediates NOH* and CO* at the heterointerfaces, benefiting from the modified electronic structure. This work provides a practical route for catalyst design and insights into urea electrosynthesis systems. Electrochemical urea synthesis is promising but struggles with high production rates and Faradaic efficiency. Herein, the authors report in-situ engineered Cu/Cu2O for CO2 and nitrate co-reduction with high urea yield and selectivity.