Advances and Challenges for the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to CO: From Fundamentals to Industrialization

2021/04/17 by Song Jin, Zhimeng Hao, Kai Zhang +2 · 993 citations
Chemical Engineering · Chemistry · Energy · Engineering · #Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques #Biochemical engineering #CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts #Carbon monoxide #Catalysis #Chemistry #Economics #Electricity #Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide #Electrochemistry #Electrode #Engineering #Environmental science #Industrialisation #Ionic liquids properties and applications #Materials science #Nanotechnology #Organic chemistry #Process engineering #Renewable energy

paper · doi:10.1002/anie.202101818

published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition 60(38), 20627-20648 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2021/04/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Abstract The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) provides an attractive approach to convert renewable electricity into fuels and feedstocks in the form of chemical bonds. Among the different CO 2 RR pathways, the conversion of CO 2 into CO is considered one of the most promising candidate reactions because of its high technological and economic feasibility. Integrating catalyst and electrolyte design with an understanding of the catalytic mechanism will yield scientific insights and promote this technology towards industrial implementation. Herein, we give an overview of recent advances and challenges for the selective conversion of CO 2 into CO. Multidimensional catalyst and electrolyte engineering for the CO 2 RR are also summarized. Furthermore, recent studies on the large‐scale production of CO are highlighted to facilitate industrialization of the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 . To conclude, the remaining technological challenges and future directions for the industrial application of the CO 2 RR to generate CO are highlighted.

Citations

• Ionic Liquid–Mediated Selective Conversion of CO 2 to CO at Low Overpotentials
• Product Selectivity Affected by Cationic Species in Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 and CO at a Cu Electrode
• Global warming preceded by increasing carbon dioxide concentrations during the last deglaciation
• Mechanistic Insights into the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to CO on Nanostructured Ag Surfaces
• Paris Agreement climate proposals need a boost to keep warming well below 2 °C
• Accelerated discovery of CO2 electrocatalysts using active machine learning
• Electrocatalysis for CO 2 conversion: from fundamentals to value-added products

Cited by

• Mechanistic Insights and Advances in Electrode/Electrolyte Interfaces for Efficient Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to C2 Products
• Tailoring Metal Nanoclusters for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO 2 to CO
• High-throughput CO-to-acetate electroconversion using current-dependent reconstructed Cu grain boundaries
• Recent advances in nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts for N-cycle electrocatalysis
• Progress and prospects of high-pressure CO 2 electrocatalytic reduction
• Mixed CO adsorption modes induced by lattice strain to facilitate C-C coupling during electrochemical CO reduction
• Engineering metal-based layered double hydroxide catalysts for the valorization of CO 2 into value-added chemicals

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