Promoting the Intermediates Hydrogenation for Urea Electrosynthesis Over an “Active Hydrogen Pump” Catalyst

作者：Chu Zhang, Quan Zhou, Zeyu Li, Chunshuang Yan, Hengjie Liu, Daobin Liu, Li Song, Qingyu Yan, Chade Lv · 发表于：Angewandte Chemie · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/ange.202507869 · 被引用次数：14 · 研究领域：Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction、Hydrogen Storage and Materials、Fuel Cells and Related Materials

Abstract Electrocatalytic coupling of CO 2 and NO 3 − 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 (Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 ) 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 2 intermediates for selective C‒N coupling and urea production. In a CO 2 ‐saturated 0.1 M KNO 3 solution, Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 achieved a maximum urea yield rate of 177 mmol h −1 g −1 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.