Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2024, Vol. 67: 4-20.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(24)60147-6

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Porousizing catalysts for boosting CO2 electroreduction

Xiaoyu Youa,b, Caoyu Yangb,c, Xinwei Lib,c(), Zhiyong Tanga,b,c()   

  1. aHenan institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450003, Henan, China.
    bCAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
    cUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • Received:2024-09-07 Accepted:2024-09-16 Online:2024-11-30 Published:2024-11-30
  • Contact: Xinwei Li, Zhiyong Tang
  • About author:Xinwei Li (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology) received his Bachelor’s degree in 2016 from Luoyang Normal University, Master’s degree in 2019 from Jiangxi Normal University, and PhD degree in 2024 from Zhengzhou University. He carried out postdoctoral research at National Center for Nanoscience and Technology from 2024. His research interests currently focus on new materials and energy electrocatalysis with emphasis on design of new catalysts and reaction mechanism for small molecule conversion.
    Zhiyong Tang (National Center for Nanoscience and Technology) obtained his PhD degree in 1999 from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Following that, he went to Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland, and to the University of Michigan, USA, for his postdoctoral research. In November of 2006, he joined the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in China and took up a full professor position. His current research interests focus on assembly, optical properties of functional nanomaterials, as well as their applications in energy, catalysis, separation, and sensing.
  • Supported by:
    Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB36000000);National Key R&D Program of China(2021YFA1200302);National Key R&D Program of China(2022YFA1205400);National Natural Science Foundation of China(92356304);National Natural Science Foundation of China(92056204)

Abstract:

Facing soaring global energy demand and intensifying environmental problems, the search for sustainable energy alternatives has become imperative. The efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the primary greenhouse gases, plays the crucial role in mitigating global climate change. The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) provides an effective solution for its conversion into high-value-added chemicals, promoting the development of the carbon cycle and green chemistry. Porous materials of distinctive physicochemical properties have demonstrated substantial potential in eCO2RR. In this review, various strategies of porousizing catalysts for boosted eCO2RR are briefly summarized. Subsequently, the functionalities of porous materials including enrichment effect, modulating microenvironmental pH, stabilizing key species, facilitating mass transfer and tuning the nature of active sites to improve the efficiency and selectivity of eCO2RR are categorized. Furthermore, we discuss the principal challenges confronting current electrocatalytic systems and propose future research directions. Insights from this review are expected to benefit broad communities of chemical and material research for rationalizing porous electrocatalysts and optimizing eCO2RR performances.

Key words: Porous nanomaterials, Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction, Enrichment, Local pH, Mass transfer