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Recent progress in structural modulation of metal nanomaterials for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

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Abstract

The electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) into value-added products presents an appealing approach to mitigate CO2 emission caused by excess consumption of fossil fuels. To obtain high catalytic activity and selectivity toward target product in ECR, designing and developing a stable and efficient electrocatalyst is of significant importance. To date, metal nanomaterials have been widely applied as electrocatalysts for ECR due to their unique physicochemical properties. The structural modulation of metal nanomaterials is an attractive strategy to improve the catalytic performance. In this review, the recent progress of structural modulation, including size, facet, grain boundary, composition, interface, ligand modification, and crystal phase, is systematically summarized from both theoretical and experimental aspects. Finally, the opportunities and perspectives of structural modulation of metal nanomaterials for ECR are proposed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program (Nos.2017YFA0204503 and 2016YFB0401100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.91833306, 21875158, 51633006 and 51703159).

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  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University & Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Chen-Huai Yang & Zhi-Cheng Zhang

  2. Department of Chemistry, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, 54660, Pakistan

    Farhat Nosheen

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Yang, CH., Nosheen, F. & Zhang, ZC. Recent progress in structural modulation of metal nanomaterials for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. Rare Met. 40, 1412–1430 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01600-4

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