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Electrolyzer and Catalysts Design from Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide Electrochemical Reduction

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Abstract

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) has attracted considerable attention in the recent decade for its critical role in the storage of renewable energy and fulfilling of the carbon cycle, and catalysts with varying morphology and modification strategies have been studied to improve the CO2RR activity and selectivity. However, most of the achievements are focused on preliminary reduction products such as CO and HCOOH. Development and research on electrochemical CO reduction reaction (CORR) are considered to be more promising to achieve multicarbon products and a better platform to understand the mechanism of C–C formation. In this review, we introduce the current achievements of CO2RR and emphasize the potential of CORR. We provide a summary of how electrolysis environment, electrode substrates, and cell design affect the performance of CORR catalysts in order to offer a guideline of standard operating conditions for CORR research. The composition–structure–activity relationships for CORR catalysts studied in H-cells and gas-phase flow cells are separately analyzed to give a comprehensive understanding of the development of catalyst design. Finally, the reaction mechanism, latest progress, major challenges and potential opportunities of CORR are also analyzed to provide a critical overview for further performance improvement of CORR.

Graphical abstract

This work reviews the recent progress and potential of carbon monoxide reduction (CORR) research. A comprehensive summary of how electrolysis environment, electrode substrate, and cell design affect the performance of CORR catalysts is performed and the composition-structure- activity relationships for CORR catalysts are analyzed.

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Copyright © 2016, Springer Nature. a Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image. b TEM image and c electric field distribution of Au needles. d Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image. e TEM image and f electric field distribution of Au rods. The sharp tip of electrodes would result in a high concentration of K+ near the electrode and thus result in high CO2RR activity. g–i AuCu alloy particles with ordered arrangement of two elements. Adapted with permission from Ref. [76]. Copyright © 2017, American Chemical Society. g Aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM image of AuCu nanoparticles. h Magnified STEM image of the center of the particle. Atoms in orange and blue colors represent gold and copper, respectively. i Intensity profile across the particle measured from the yellow box shown in g. Arrows indicate alternating high and low intensities, which represent gold and copper atoms, respectively. j–l Tandem design of AuCu bimetallic electrodes. Adapted with permission from Ref. [77]. Copyright © 2018, Royal Society of Chemistry. j Schematic of the interdigitated AuCu device. Externally connected on/off switches linked to a potentiostat can control the power supply on Au and Cu lines, separately. X% in table refers to the ratio of the geometric area of the Cu lines to the total metal area. k SEM and l EDX images of the 11% AuCu device with Si in blue, Au in green and Cu in red. m–r Typical metal–nonmetal compounds (MxNy) of Cu2S for CO2RR. Adapted with permission from Ref. [47]. Copyright © 2018, Springer Nature. m TEM and n EDS mapping of vacancy-rich Cu2S nanoparticles. o EDS mapping, p high-resolution TEM, q EDS line scans and r the ratio of Cu/S concentration of vacancy-rich Cu2S nanoparticles after electrochemical reduction, showing that S is removed from the nanoparticle surface

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Acknowledgements

Changli Li acknowledges financial funding from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 22002191). Qinghua Liu acknowledges funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1932212 and 11875257).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, Guanɡdonɡ, China

    Jingfu He & Changli Li

  2. Fundamental Science on Nuclear Wastes and Environmental Safety Laboratory, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China

    Yuanli Li

  3. Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z1, Canada

    Aoxue Huang

  4. National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230029, Anhui, China

    Qinghua Liu

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  1. Jingfu He
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  2. Yuanli Li
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  3. Aoxue Huang
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  4. Qinghua Liu
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  5. Changli Li
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Correspondence to Jingfu He or Changli Li.

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He, J., Li, Y., Huang, A. et al. Electrolyzer and Catalysts Design from Carbon Dioxide to Carbon Monoxide Electrochemical Reduction. Electrochem. Energy Rev. 4, 680–717 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41918-021-00100-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41918-021-00100-y

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