Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to multicarbon (C) products: challenges and perspectives

Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction has been developed as a promising and attractive strategy to achieve carbon neutrality for sustainable chemical production. Among various reduction products, multi-carbon (C 2+ ) compounds with higher energy density are desirable value-added products. Herein, we revie...

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Published inEnergy & environmental science Vol. 16; no. 11; pp. 4714 - 4758
Main Authors Chang, Bin, Pang, Hong, Raziq, Fazal, Wang, Sibo, Huang, Kuo-Wei, Ye, Jinhua, Zhang, Huabin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 08.11.2023
Subjects
Carbon dioxide
Catalysts
Chemical reduction
Design optimization
Electrochemistry
Electrolytes
Interface reactions
Intermediates
Ionic liquids
Machine learning
Mass transfer
Reaction intermediates
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Summary:Electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction has been developed as a promising and attractive strategy to achieve carbon neutrality for sustainable chemical production. Among various reduction products, multi-carbon (C 2+ ) compounds with higher energy density are desirable value-added products. Herein, we review and discuss the recent progress and challenges in preparing C 2+ products. We start with the elaboration of the most recent advancement of carbon-carbon coupling results and the newly proposed mechanisms, which are much more complicated than that of single-carbon products. The complex scenarios involved in the initial CO 2 activation process, the catalyst micro/nanostructure design, and mass transfer conditions optimization have been thoroughly discussed. In addition, we also propose the synergistic realization of high C 2+ product selectivity through the rational design of the catalyst and elaborate on the influence of electrolytes (anion/cation/pH/ionic liquid) using theoretical calculation analysis and machine learning prediction. Several in situ / operando techniques have been elaborated for tracking the structural evolution and recording the reaction intermediates during electrocatalysis. Additional insights into the triphasic interfacial reaction systems with improved C 2+ selectivity are also provided. By presenting these advances and future challenges with potential solutions related to the integral development of electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to C 2+ products, we hope to shed some light on the forthcoming research on electrochemical carbon dioxide recycling. This review analyzes advanced catalysts and C 2+ synthesis mechanisms based on theoretical explorations and in situ / operando characterizations. Triphasic interface optimization is discussed for the potential of industry-compatible stability.
Bibliography:Bin Chang received his PhD degree from Shandong University in 2020. Then, he worked as a postdoc under the supervision of Prof. Weijia Zhou at the University of Jinan (UJN) and Prof. Shuhui Sun at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS). He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Huabin Zhang's group at KAUST Catalysis Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). His research interests focus on advanced catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion.
Huabin Zhang received his PhD degree in chemistry from Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences (FJIRSM-CAS). After finishing his postdoc research in Japan (Supervisor: Jinhua Ye) at the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) and Singapore (supervisor: Xiong Wen Lou) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, he joined KAUST serving as an Assistant Professor in January 2021. His research interests focus on advanced catalysis for sustainable energy.
Jinhua Ye received her PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1990. She is presently a Principal Investigator at the National Institute of Materials Science (NIMS) and a Professor of the Joint Doctoral Program at Hokkaido University, Japan. Her research interests focus on the research and development of photofunctional materials and their applications in the fields of environmental remediation and new energy production. She has published more than 600 high impact research papers with over 60 000 total citations (h index: 133). She is currently serving as the Associate Editor of RSC Catalysis Science & Technology, and Science Advances.
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ISSN:1754-5692
1754-5706
DOI:10.1039/d3ee00964e