Multiscale CO2 Electrocatalysis to C2+ Products: Reaction Mechanisms, Catalyst Design, and Device Fabrication

Electrosynthesis of value-added chemicals, directly fromCO(2), could foster achievement of carbon neutral throughan alternativeelectrical approach to the energy-intensive thermochemical industryfor carbon utilization. Progress in this area, based on electrogenerationof multicarbon products through CO2 electroreduction, however,lags far behind that for C-1 products. Reaction routes arecomplicated and kinetics are slow with scale up to the high levelsrequired for commercialization, posing significant problems. In thisreview, we identify and summarize state-of-art progress in multicarbonsynthesis with a multiscale perspective and discuss current hurdlesto be resolved for multicarbon generation from CO2 reductionincluding atomistic mechanisms, nanoscale electrocatalysts, microscaleelectrodes, and macroscale electrolyzers with guidelines for futureresearch. The review ends with a cross-scale perspective that linksdiscrepancies between different approaches with extensions to performanceand stability issues that arise from extensions to an industrial environment.

Automated summary

This article reviews the recent progress in electroreduction of CO2 for multicarbon synthesis, identifies the current hurdles to be resolved, and provides guidelines for future research.