Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2023, Vol. 53: 52-71.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64543-7

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The dynamic behaviors of heterogeneous interfaces in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction

Shenyu Shena, Qingfeng Guob, Tiantian Wua,*(), Yaqiong Sua,*()   

  1. aSchool of Chemistry, Engineering Research Center of Energy Storage Materials and Devices of Ministry of Education, National Innovation Platform (Center) for Industry-Education Integration of Energy Storage Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, Shaanxi, China
    bHuanghe Science and Technology College, Zhengzhou 450063, Henan, China
  • Received:2023-07-29 Accepted:2023-09-20 Online:2023-10-18 Published:2023-10-25
  • Contact: *E-mail: tianwu@xjtu.edu.cn (T. Wu); yqsu1989@xjtu.edu.cn (Y. Su).
  • About author:Tiantian Wu received her Ph.D. from Technical University of Denmark in 2019, and then worked as a postdoc in Technical University of Denmark from 2019 to 2021. She also had an external stay at Prof. Núria López’s group in Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Now she is working as an assistant professor in Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research area is computational catalysis in metal-air batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and electrocatalysis in solid fuel cells (SOECs).
    Yaqiong Su received his Master degree from Xiamen University in 2014 and PhD degree from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2019, and then did his postdoctoral research at Eindhoven University of Technology in 2019. He worked as a visiting scholar in 2011-iChEM, Xiamen University from November 2019 to August 2020. He is now a distinguished professor and principal investigator at Xi’an Jiaotong University. His research involves theoretical chemistry, computational catalysis and spectroscopic electrochemistry.
  • Supported by:
    The National Natural Science Foundation of China(22103059)

Abstract:

The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a highly promising renewable energy technology that can convert greenhouse gases into valuable fuels and chemicals. However, under ordinary operating conditions, significant dynamic evolution behavior occurs on the catalyst surface, which is mainly manifested as surface morphology evolution and property changes, eventually leading to changes in the active sites of the reaction, affecting selectivity and efficiency. To develop efficient electrocatalytic systems with excellent performance, an essential prerequisite is to understand the underlying mechanism of surface dynamic evolution. Studying the influence of the external environment on dynamic evolution is as important as studying the intrinsic structural properties of catalysts. In this review, we first introduce the concept of dynamic evolution and then emphasize the influence of the external environment (applied potential, temperature, electrolyte, and impurities) on CO2RR dynamic evolution. We also address the use of operando characterization techniques and pulsed CO2 electrolysis methods for monitoring and controlling dynamic evolution behaviors under working conditions, along with theoretical methods, including ab initio calculations and machine learning that can simulate dynamic behavior. Finally, we present several current challenges and prospects for the development of techniques for controlling the CO2RR dynamic evolution.

Key words: CO2 reduction reaction, Dynamic behavior, Active site, External environment, Electrocatalysis