Efficient urea electrosynthesis via coordination of the reaction rate of carbon dioxide and nitrate co-reduction

The electrochemical co-reduction of CO 2 and NO 3 − to urea is an alternative to traditional urea synthesis. However, the significant difference in the energy barriers and reaction rates for CO 2 and NO 3 − reduction restricts the efficiency of the C  N coupling. Herein, we report a strategy to coordinate the C  N coupling intermediates by unilaterally increasing the efficiency of CO 2 reduction to match that of facile NO 3 − reduction. We demonstrate this strategy using an electrochemical reaction system consisting of a Cu 2 O-loaded ordered gas-diffusion electrode, which offers a high urea yield rate of 1373.5 μg h −1 mg cat. −1 at a low applied potential of −0.6 V versus RHE. This work not only provides a feasible strategy to coordinate the reductive coupling of CO 2 and NO 3 − , but also brings new insight into the reaction mechanism of urea electrosynthesis.