AuCu nanofibers for electrosynthesis of urea from carbon dioxide and nitrite
Songliang Liu, Shuli Yin, Ziqiang Wang, You Xu, Xiao‐Nian Li, Liang Wang, Hongjing Wang
Abstract
Carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a promising technology for mitigating greenhouse gas emission and achieving carbon neutrality. However, coupling CO2RR with other reactions to produce high value-added chemicals remains a challenge. In this work, we report self-assembled nanofibers composed of ultrathin AuCu alloy nanowires possessing a Boerdijk-Coxeter structure with (111)-dominant facets for the electrosynthesis of urea by coupling CO2RR with nitrite reduction reaction (NO2−RR). The rich structural defects and AuCu bimetallic alloy composition provide a large number of highly catalytically active sites. The constructed AuCu nanofibers display excellent urea synthesis performance in the electrolyte solution containing 0.01 M KNO2 with continuous drumming of CO2, achieving a high urea yield rate of up to 3,889.6 μg h−1 mg−1cat. and a high faradic efficiency of 24.7% at −1.55 V (versus Ag/AgCl). This work provides a feasible method for the rational design of self-assembled bimetallic nanofibers for electrosynthesis of urea under ambient conditions.