Recent advances in tandem electrocatalysis of carbon dioxide: A review

Abstract

The attainment of carbon neutrality has become a global consensus as a result of the increasing environmental problems caused by the consumption of fossil fuels. To achieve this objective, there has been widespread attention towards the electrocatalytic reduction reaction of carbon dioxide driven by renewable energy sources due to its mild reaction conditions. In recent years, generating high value-added multicarbon products has been the focus of considerable research efforts. However, the process of generating these products has been restricted by the complexity of the reaction path, the limitations of the scaling relationship, and the poor adaptability to the reaction environment, thereby impeding previous studies from achieving efficient conversion at high current densities. As a result, a more suitable catalyst design strategy is required to obtain high value-added products. This study proposes that the design approach of tandem catalysis will be effective in generating multicarbon products by exploring the mechanism of C–C bond coupling and the configuration of the reaction environment. This research summaries the mechanism and design requirements of tandem catalysis scaled by different intermediates transport distances and review strategies of tandem catalyst configurations, such as nanostructures, phase-mixed, phase-separated, and application of special supports, in facilitating the generation of multicarbon products. The study provides suggestions for the design of CO2 electrocatalytic tandem catalysts and conclude with a discussion of possible future directions.