Advances in electrolyzer design and development for electrochemical CO2 reduction

Abstract

In view of global energy transition and environmental issues, electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to high value-added chemicals by using clean renewable electricity, as an advanced carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology, demonstrates a promising approach to reach the carbon neutrality with additional economic benefits as well. Over the past decade, various new valid catalysts in electrochemical CO₂ reduction (ECO2R) have been designed and intensively investigated. Unfortunately, constructing appropriate ECO2R electrolyzer with high conversion rate and long-term stability to unleash the full potential benefits of electrocatalysts remains a recognized challenge, especially as it has not yet attracted attention. This review summarizes the progress of ECO2R reactor and their corresponding structure characteristics/ electrochemical performance. Besides, the current challenges and bottlenecks of CO2RR reactor are discussed. We aim to introduce the advances in ECO2R electrolyzer in detail to offer enlightenment for large-scale industrial application of ECO2R.