Research progress of electrochemical CO2 reduction for copper-based catalysts to multicarbon products

Abstract

• The latest research progress of copper-based catalyst design strategies for improving ECO 2 RR is summarized. • Design strategies including structure, defect, compounds-derived catalysts, bimetallic construction, and heterogeneous engineering can all improve the reduction performance. • The main formation mechanism and reaction pathway of the C–C bond of the C 2+ reduction product are summarized. • The multi-factor comparative analysis and the trend of performance optimization is summarized. • The problems and possible solutions faced for the copper catalysts are discussed. Excessive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions cause serious harm to nature and humans, and electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (ECO 2 RR) is a potential method to solve the current crisis. Due to the high selectivity for multicarbon (C 2+ ) oxygenate and hydrocarbons, copper-based catalysts have attracted extensive attention and research. In this review, we summarize in detail the design strategies of copper-based catalysts to improve the performance of ECO 2 RR, including structure, defect, compounds-derived catalysts, bimetallic construction, and heterogeneous engineering. The correlation between the formation mechanism of the C–C bond and the structural characteristics of the catalyst is discussed in detail. Finally, the main challenges of reducing CO 2 to C 2+ products such as low selectivity, low activity, and low stability are discussed. According to current literature, this review also provides distinctive insights and some potential strategies for the design and performance optimization of copper-based catalysts.