Boosting Amino Acid Synthesis with WO_x Sub-Nanoclusters

The conversion of nitrate-rich wastewater and biomass-derived blocks into high-value products using renewably generated electricity is a promising approach to modulate the artificial carbon and nitrogen cycle. Here, a new synthetic strategy of WO_x sub-nanoclusters is reported and supported on carbon materials as novel efficient electrocatalysts for nitrate reduction and its coupling with α-keto acids. In acidic solutions, the NH₃-NH₂OH selectivity can also optimized by adjusting the potential, with the total FE exceeding 80% over a wide potential range. After introducing α-keto acids, the WO_x/D-CB electrode achieves remarkable activity and selectivity toward C₂-C₆ amino acids. For glycine and alanine, impressive FEs of 49.34% and 38.22% based on transitional metal oxides can be obtained, surpassing those of WO_x nanoclusters with larger size. In situ analysis and mechanistic studies reveal the critical role of WO_x sub-nanoclusters in reducing the energy barriers of key steps in alanine synthesis. This work opens up new insights into the rational design of cluster catalysts to promote electrochemical amino acid synthesis.