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Tuning of CO 2 Reduction Selectivity on Metal Electrocatalysts
Author(s) -
Wang Yuhang,
Liu Junlang,
Wang Yifei,
AlEnizi Abdullah M.,
Zheng Gengfeng
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201701809
Subject(s) - artificial photosynthesis , selectivity , catalysis , materials science , electrochemistry , nanotechnology , oxide , electrolyte , metal , reduction (mathematics) , chemical engineering , chemistry , electrode , photocatalysis , metallurgy , organic chemistry , geometry , mathematics , engineering
Climate change, caused by heavy CO 2 emissions, is driving new demands to alleviate the rising concentration of atmospheric CO 2 levels. Enlightened by the photosynthesis of green plants, photo(electro)chemical catalysis of CO 2 reduction, also known as artificial photosynthesis, is emerged as a promising candidate to address these demands and is widely investigated during the past decade. Among various artificial photosynthetic systems, solar‐driven electrochemical CO 2 reduction is widely recognized to possess high efficiencies and potentials for practical application. The efficient and selective electroreduction of CO 2 is the key to the overall solar‐to‐chemical efficiency of artificial photosynthesis. Recent studies show that various metallic materials possess the capability to play as electrocatalysts for CO 2 reduction. In order to achieve high selectivity for CO 2 reduction products, various efforts are made including studies on electrolytes, crystal facets, oxide‐derived catalysts, electronic and geometric structures, nanostructures, and mesoscale phenomena. In this Review, these methods for tuning the selectivity of CO 2 electrochemical reduction of metallic catalysts are summarized. The challenges and perspectives in this field are also discussed.