The increasing greenhouse gas CO₂ emission poses a potential threat to global climate. Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ (CO₂RR) to useful chemical products, an artificial way of carbon recycling, opens up new possibilities of utilization of CO₂ and represents one promising solution that significantly improve the environment and promotes sustainable development. However, it remains a challenge to convert CO₂ to valued products with high efficiency and selectivity while suppressing the H₂ evolution(HER) side reaction. Copper attracts considerable attention currently because it displays interesting electrocatalytic performances for the reduction of CO₂. Progress related to the electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ in the past few years, and their advantages and disadvantages are reviewed, and thermodynamics and kinetics research of CO₂RR is described,with a focus on the progress in CO₂RR on copper-based electrodes, which includes Cu electrode, Cu metal-organic frameworks electrode and Cu-based electrodes modified by oxidation, alloying, nanocrystalization and surface modification, even if the CO₂ electrocatalytic reduction reaction mechanism remains uncertain. Finally, challenges and future research opportunities for tuning the selective conversion of CO₂ on copper-based catalysts with high efficiency are also discussed.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Research on the mechanism of electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂
2.1 Thermodynamics and kinetics of electrochemical reduction of CO₂
2.2 Research on the reaction mechanism of electrochemical reduction of CO₂
3 Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ on copper-based electrocatalysts
3.1 Copper electrode
3.2 Copper metal-organic framework electrode
3.3 Modified copper electrode
4 Conclusion