Advanced Catalyst Design and Reactor Configuration Upgrade in Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Conversion

Zhitong Wang; Yansong Zhou; Peng Qiu; Chenfeng Xia; Wensheng Fang; Jian Jin; Lei Huang; Peilin Deng; Yaqiong Su; Rachel Crespo-Otero; Xinlong Tian; Bo You; Wei Guo; Devis Di Tommaso; Yuanjie Pang; Shujiang Ding; Bao Yu Xia

doi:10.1002/adma.202303052

Advanced Catalyst Design and Reactor Configuration Upgrade in Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Conversion

Adv Mater. 2023 Dec;35(52):e2303052. doi: 10.1002/adma.202303052. Epub 2023 Nov 20.

Authors

Zhitong Wang^{1

2}, Yansong Zhou¹, Peng Qiu³, Chenfeng Xia¹, Wensheng Fang¹, Jian Jin³, Lei Huang¹, Peilin Deng², Yaqiong Su⁴, Rachel Crespo-Otero⁵, Xinlong Tian², Bo You¹, Wei Guo¹, Devis Di Tommaso⁶, Yuanjie Pang³, Shujiang Ding⁴, Bao Yu Xia¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage (Ministry of Education), Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 1037 Luoyu Rd, Wuhan, 430074, China.
² School of Marine Science and Engineering, Hainan Provincial Key Lab of Fine Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
³ School of Optical and Electronic Information, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, 430074, China.
⁴ School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Rd, Xi'an, 710049, China.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, University of College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, UK.
⁶ School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS, UK.

PMID: 37589167
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202303052

Abstract

Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂ RR) driven by renewable energy shows great promise in mitigating and potentially reversing the devastating effects of anthropogenic climate change and environmental degradation. The simultaneous synthesis of energy-dense chemicals can meet global energy demand while decoupling emissions from economic growth. However, the development of CO₂ RR technology faces challenges in catalyst discovery and device optimization that hinder their industrial implementation. In this contribution, a comprehensive overview of the current state of CO₂ RR research is provided, starting with the background and motivation for this technology, followed by the fundamentals and evaluated metrics. Then the underlying design principles of electrocatalysts are discussed, emphasizing their structure-performance correlations and advanced electrochemical assembly cells that can increase CO₂ RR selectivity and throughput. Finally, the review looks to the future and identifies opportunities for innovation in mechanism discovery, material screening strategies, and device assemblies to move toward a carbon-neutral society.

Keywords: carbon dioxide reduction; cell configuration; electrocatalysts; electrolyzer design.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding