Atomically Dispersed Cu on In 2 O 3 for Relay Electrocatalytic Conversion of Nitrate and CO 2 to Urea.

Urea electrosynthesis from coelectrolysis of NO 3 - and CO 2 (UENC) holds a significant prospect to achieve efficient and sustainable urea production. Herein, atomically dispersed Cu on In 2 O 3 (Cu 1 /In 2 O 3 ) is designed as an effective and robust catalyst for the UENC. Combined theoretical calculations and in situ spectroscopic analysis reveal the synergistic effect of the Cu 1 -O 2 -In site and the In site to boost the UENC energetics via a relay catalysis pathway, where the Cu 1 -O 2 -In site drives *NO 3 → *NH 2 and the In site catalyzes *CO 2 → *CO. The generated *CO is then migrated from the In site to the Cu 1 -O 2 -In site, followed by C-N coupling with *NH 2 on the Cu 1 -O 2 -In site to generate urea. Consequently, Cu 1 /In 2 O 3 assembled within a flow cell exhibits an impressive urea yield rate of 28.97 mmol h -1 g -1 with a urea-Faradaic efficiency (FE urea ) of 50.88%.