Recent advances in designing efficient electrocatalysts for electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to formic acid/formate

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value fuels and chemical feedstocks has emerged as a potential approach to achieve carbon neutrality and address the climate crisis caused by massive CO2 emissions. In this review, the recent research progress of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formic acid or formate is summarized. For a more direct and comprehensive introduction to the properties of high-performance electrocatalysts, this review mainly focuses on the following four types of catalysts, including nanostructured catalysts, single atom catalysts, doped or alloyed catalysts, and supported catalysts. Meanwhile, the synthetic strategies and theoretical designs of the catalysts for improving the Faradaic efficiency (FE), current density, and stability of the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) are also discussed. Finally, the current challenges and further perspectives of the electrocatalysts for electrochemical CO2RR are summarized.