Key factors for designing single-atom metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction

Abstract The electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2RR) is a sustainable approach to mitigate the increased CO2 emissions and simultaneously produce value-added chemicals and fuels. Metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) based single-atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for CO2RR with high activity, selectivity, and stability. To design efficient SACs for CO2RR, the key influence factors need to be understood. Here, we summarize recent achievements on M-N-C SACs for CO2RR and highlight the significance of the key constituting factors, metal sites, the coordination environment, and the substrates, for achieving high CO2RR performance. The perspective views and guidelines are provided for the future direction of developing M-N-C SACs as CO2RR catalysts.