Progress in regulating the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction performance through the synergistic effect of Cu-based bimetallics

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2024, Vol.12 (23), p.13647-13671
• Main Authors: Ma, Dandan, Chen, Jiantao, Zhang, Zhuoming, Li, Jun, Jian-Wen, Shi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bimetals; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Catalysts; Chemical fuels; Chemical synthesis; Copper; Electrocatalysts; Electrochemistry; Fabrication; Heavy metals; Intermediates; Reaction mechanisms; Renewable energy; Secondary metals; Synergistic effect
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d4ta01366b

As an effective way to implement net-zero CO2 emissions and storage of intermittent renewable energy, the reduction of CO2 into chemical fuels through the electrochemical method has attracted considerable interest. Monometallic copper (Cu) has shown great potential in transforming CO2 to CO and hydrocarbon compounds, especially multi-carbon products; however, its low product selectivity limits its application. Alternatively, Cu-based bimetallic electrocatalysts have shown particular capacity to favor the desired products because they theoretically provide a platform for modulating the binding affinity of key intermediates. This review focuses on the recent advances in Cu-based bimetallic electrocatalysts, including the reaction mechanism of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction using specific catalytic systems, methods for the fabrication of Cu-based bimetallic catalysts, and categories of bimetallic Cu-based catalysts with different secondary metals. Finally, we propose the challenges and prospects for Cu-based bimetallic catalysts for electrochemical CO2 conversion. The purpose of this review is to categorize the ideas in the design and synthesis of bimetallic catalysts, thus providing a valuable reference for improving the CO2 reduction ability by constructing bimetallic catalysts.