The world is dependent on fossil-fuel-based energy systems, which constantly release carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas into the atmosphere. This poses a significant threat to the global environmental balance. Currently, there are various potential ways to alter the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere or prevent the release of CO₂, including the commercial use of CO₂ in various chemical reactions, as well as CO₂ capture and sequestration technology. Concerning the latter, electrochemical CO₂ reduction (ECO₂R) could be used to convert CO₂ into value-added chemicals, such as formic acid, carbon monoxide, ethanol, and methanol, and this method has drawn the interest of many researchers. Methanol is one of the products of the ECO₂R reaction, and direct methanol fuel cells are emerging energy sources with a wide range of applications. However, the design and engineering of highly efficient electrocatalysts for ECO₂R are crucial to accelerate the development of this field. In this review, we highlight systematic studies on promising ECO₂R electrocatalysts, such as those based on copper and molybdenum and their derivative compounds, as well as monometallic/bi-metallic, metals–organic complexes, precious metals, and single-atom electrocatalysts, reported so far. The current understanding of the ECO₂R mechanism and the trends in the activities of various electrocatalysts are also summarized. Overall, this review article summarizes the attempts and outcomes of ECO₂R for methanol formation over various electrocatalyst surfaces. Additionally, we present some of our own perspectives on future challenges in this field.

논문정보

Journal of Alloys and Compounds Volume 887, 20 December 2021, 161449

Received 8 May 2021, Revised 27 July 2021, Accepted 3 August 2021, Available online 5 August 2021, Version of Record 12 August 2021.

Authors:Animesh Roy, Harsharaj S. Jadhav, Sung Jea Park, Jeong Gil Seo

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161449