Recent advances in molten salt CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion to functional carbon materials

The increasing concentration of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is seriously affecting the environmental safety and ecology health, and it is imperative to adopt effective methods to reduce the CO2 concentration. As an effective method of CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion into functional solid carbon materials, the molten salt method is widely used for CO2 capture and storage with its advantages of wide potential electrochemical window, high CO2 solubility, less side reactions, and simple operation. The molten salt CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion (MSCC-EC) process can efficiently capture CO2 by its high solubility in molten salt and decompose CO2 into solid carbon material at the cathode and O2 at the anode powered by electrical energy to achieve CO2 capture and green conversion in the presence of a molten salt electrolyte. This report summarizes the MSCC-EC process and the intrinsic mechanism, and makes a systematic summary of the formation mechanism and application prospects of different kinds of carbon products produced in the electrolysis process, intending to optimize the CO2 capture and green conversion process or provide new methods based on a comprehensive understanding of the MSCC-EC process.