Electrochemical Synthesis of Urea toward High-Value Utilization of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate.

Abstract

Concerted electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrate (NO₃ ^-) to produce urea is a "three-win" path that simultaneously achieves the high-value utilization of CO₂, nitrogen removal from wastewater, and green nitrogen fertilizer production. It is becoming a new frontier in artificial carbon cycling and sustainable agriculture, while there are bottlenecks in catalyst stability, catalytic performance, and mechanism insights. As a result, the large-scale implementation of this technology still faces significant challenges. By integrating the analysis of reaction mechanisms, the design of catalytic microstructure, and the optimization of external conditions, a multiscale correlation framework among the three is established in this concept, providing a key path to bridge the acknowledged gap between molecular-scale mechanisms and macroscopic system optimization. The objective is to expedite the industrial application of this technique and promote the utilization of waste carbon and nitrogen sources in a circular manner.