Open AccessElectrochemical Reduction of CO 2 to CO over Transition Metal/N‐Doped Carbon Catalysts: The Active Sites and Reaction Mechanism
Author(s) -
Liang Shuyu,
Huang Liang,
Gao Yanshan,
Wang Qiang,
Liu Bin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202102886
Subject(s) - catalysis , electrochemistry , transition metal , materials science , carbon fibers , electrochemical energy conversion , economic shortage , inorganic chemistry , electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , metal , doping , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , electrode , carbon monoxide , metallurgy , organic chemistry , linguistics , philosophy , optoelectronics , government (linguistics) , composite number , engineering , composite material
Electrochemical CO 2 reduction to value‐added chemicals/fuels provides a promising way to mitigate CO 2 emission and alleviate energy shortage. CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion involves only two‐electron/proton transfer and thus is kinetically fast. Among the various developed CO 2 ‐to‐CO reduction electrocatalysts, transition metal/N‐doped carbon (M‐N‐C) catalysts are attractive due to their low cost and high activity. In this work, recent progress on the development of M‐N‐C catalysts for electrochemical CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion is reviewed in detail. The regulation of the active sites in M‐N‐C catalysts and their related adjustable electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction performance is discussed. A visual performance comparison of M‐N‐C catalysts for CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) reported over the recent years is given, which suggests that Ni and Fe‐N‐C catalysts are the most promising candidates for large‐scale reduction of CO 2 to produce CO. Finally, outlooks and challenges are proposed for future research of CO 2 ‐to‐CO conversion.