Accessing Organonitrogen Compounds via C-N Coupling in Electrocatalytic CO Reduction.

Given the limited product variety of electrocatalytic CO reduction reactions solely from CO and HO as the reactants, it is desirable to expand the product scope by introducing additional reactants that provide elemental diversity. The integration of inorganic heteroatom-containing reactants into electrocatalytic CO reduction could, in principle, enable the sustainable synthesis of valuable products, such as organonitrogen compounds, which have widespread applications but typically rely on NH derived from the energy-intensive and fossil-fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process for their industrial-scale production. In this Perspective, research progress toward building C-N bonds in N-integrated electrocatalytic CO reduction is highlighted, and the electrosyntheses of urea, acetamides, and amines are examined from the standpoints of reactivity, catalyst structure, and, most fundamentally, mechanism. Mechanistic discussions of C-N coupling in these advances are emphasized and critically evaluated, with the aim of directing future investigations on improving the product yield and broadening the product scope of N-integrated electrocatalytic CO reduction.