Research trends on minimizing the size of noble metal catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries: From nanoparticle to single atom

• Published in: The Korean journal of chemical engineering pp. 461 - 472
• Main Authors: 노여진, 유윤정, 류원희
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 한국화학공학회 01.03.2023
• Subjects: 화학공학
• ISSN: 0256-1115; 1975-7220
• DOI: 10.1007/s11814-022-1309-7

Li-CO2 batteries involve a spontaneous conversion reaction by injecting CO2 into a cathode, and reversibly store energy without additional energy input through a charging and discharging process, thereby achieving carbon neutrality. Noble metal-based electrocatalysts have been actively considered to efficiently facilitate the Li-CO2 reaction with reduced overvoltage, yet the use of expensive noble metal catalysts is a barrier to developing this type of Li-CO2 battery. Here, the importance of minimizing the size of noble metal particle-based catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries is reviewed and emphasized. Comparisons of the performance of Li-CO2 cells with noble metal catalysts, such as Ru and Ir, showed that overpotential is lower when particle sizes are reduced to the single atom-scale. This indicates that the smaller the particle-to-atomic scale, the greater the catalytic activity. Recent diverse studies based on nano- or atomic-scale Ru and Ir catalysts affecting catalytic activities of the Li-CO2 cell reaction are introduced. Other single atom catalyst candidates are also suggested for Li-CO2 battery applications. KCI Citation Count: 0