Publications
Sort:
Open Access Research Article Issue
Efficient and sustainable urea synthesis on a bifunctional catalyst
Nano Research 2025, 18(11): 94907910
Published: 15 October 2025
Abstract PDF (19.2 MB) Collect
Downloads:382

Electrochemical co-reduction of CO2 and nitrogen sources (N2 or NO3) provides a promising route for ambient urea synthesis, yet suffers from low conversion efficiency or reliance on fossil fuel-derived NH3/NO3. Herein, we present an integrated plasma-electrocatalytic route for sustainable urea synthesis from ambient air, which involves the initial plasma-driven air oxidation to form NOx and followed by electrocatalytic co-reduction of CO2 + NOx to produce urea. Specially, a bifunctional BiSA/a-MoO3 catalyst (isolated Bi single atom on amorphous MoO3) was designed to promote both plasma and electrocatalytic processes, consequently achieving the exceptional urea yield rate of 55.9 mmol·h−1·g−1 and Faradaic efficiency of 59.7%. The combined theoretical calculations and in situ spectroscopic measurements reveal the synergy of BiSA and unsaturated Mo sites in boosting the C–N coupling of *COOH and *NH2 intermediates for selective urea formation.

Total 1