Zhang Chu, Zhou Quan, Li Zeyu, Yan Chunshuang, Liu Hengjie, Liu Daobin, Song Li, Yan Qingyu, Lv Chade
State Key Laboratory of Space Power-Sources, MIIT Key Laboratory of Critical Materials Technology for New Energy Conversion and Storage, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China.
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230029, China.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025 Jul;64(29):e202507869. doi: 10.1002/anie.202507869. Epub 2025 May 20.
Electrocatalytic coupling of CO and NO offers a sustainable approach for urea production. However, the limited supply of active hydrogen (*H) hinders the formation of the key carbon- and nitrogen-containing intermediates, thus impeding the selective C─N coupling. Herein, we developed copper molybdate (CuMoO) nanorods, which could serve as "active hydrogen pump" catalysts by regulating the water dissociation and hydrogen adsorption. Such electrocatalyst would guarantee a steady *H supply for intermediates hydrogenation, hence boosting the generation of *CO and *NH intermediates for selective C‒N coupling and urea production. In a CO-saturated 0.1 M KNO solution, CuMoO achieved a maximum urea yield rate of 177 mmol h g with a urea-producing FE of 40% in a flow cell configuration, outperforming most reported electrocatalysts. This study underscores the crucial role of *H, which may guide the exploration of advanced catalysts for expediting the sustainable synthesis of indispensable chemicals requiring rapid intermediates hydrogenation.
