Relationships between structural design and synthesis engineering of Cu-based catalysts for CO2 to C2 electroreduction

Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction is a promising energy storage technology with a wide range of applications. During the CO2 reduction, it is important to modulate the adsorption energies for different intermediates on catalysts. To date, it’s still a challenge to precisely and effectively modulate this adsorption energy for achieving efficient CO2 reduction performance. Copper is the only metal catalyst that can convert CO2 into high-value and high-energy C2+ product among all catalysts. In this review, we summarize the development of copper-based catalysts in recent years, including introducing the CO2 electroreduction mechanism, and outlining the reaction pathways of different C2 products. Subsequently, we propose approaches for the preparation of catalysts capable of efficiently producing C2 products to achieve the required catalytic performance from the perspective of copper-based catalyst synthesis. Then, we deeply analyze changes for the catalyst in CO2RR by in situ monitoring tools. Finally, we present the challenges of copper-based catalysts and our views on the development of copper-based catalysts in the future.