<p>Electrochemical C − N coupling is an appealing approach for sustainable urea synthesis, while it is technically challenging due to the complex reaction mechanism and the spatiotemporal mismatch between C- and N- intermediates. Here, inspired by click chemistry, we design a hierarchical click-site catalyst (Se−InO<sub>x</sub>) that enables an efficient sequential-chain coupling pathway for urea electrosynthesis, achieving a urea yield rate of 254.94 mmol h<sup>−1</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>, Faradaic efficiency of 78.61%, &gt;85% N<sub>urea</sub>-selectivity and 100% C<sub>urea</sub>-selectivity. Mechanistic studies reveal that Se−InO<sub>x</sub> as the first click-site can selectively adsorb NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup> and hydrogenate it to stable *NO<sub>2</sub>, while inhibiting CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption at this stage. The surface-anchored *NO<sub>2</sub> then acts as the second click-site to click couple with CO<sub>2</sub>, forming the key *CO<sub>2</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> intermediate. This sequential-chain coupling strategy effectively resolves the spatiotemporal mismatch between N- and C- intermediates, thereby maximizing the suppression of side-reactions and enhancing C − N coupling selectivity. Techno-economic analysis and scalable synthesis validate the feasibility of this approach, providing a blueprint for high-selectivity multicomponent electrosynthesis.</p>

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Sequential-chain coupling over hierarchical click-sites enables highly selective urea electrosynthesis

  • Yuntong Sun,
  • Meng Tian,
  • Qian Wu,
  • Xiaoyuan Zhang,
  • Yin Huang,
  • Min Zheng,
  • Wenyao Zhang,
  • Junwu Zhu,
  • Zhichuan J. Xu

摘要

Electrochemical C − N coupling is an appealing approach for sustainable urea synthesis, while it is technically challenging due to the complex reaction mechanism and the spatiotemporal mismatch between C- and N- intermediates. Here, inspired by click chemistry, we design a hierarchical click-site catalyst (Se−InOx) that enables an efficient sequential-chain coupling pathway for urea electrosynthesis, achieving a urea yield rate of 254.94 mmol h−1 g−1, Faradaic efficiency of 78.61%, >85% Nurea-selectivity and 100% Curea-selectivity. Mechanistic studies reveal that Se−InOx as the first click-site can selectively adsorb NO3 and hydrogenate it to stable *NO2, while inhibiting CO2 adsorption at this stage. The surface-anchored *NO2 then acts as the second click-site to click couple with CO2, forming the key *CO2NO2 intermediate. This sequential-chain coupling strategy effectively resolves the spatiotemporal mismatch between N- and C- intermediates, thereby maximizing the suppression of side-reactions and enhancing C − N coupling selectivity. Techno-economic analysis and scalable synthesis validate the feasibility of this approach, providing a blueprint for high-selectivity multicomponent electrosynthesis.