Porous metal oxides in the role of electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction

The global energy-related CO2 emissions have rapidly increased as the world economy heavily relied on fossil fuels. This paper explores the pressing challenge of CO2 emissions and highlights the role of porous metal oxide materials in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 (CO2RR). The focus is on the development of robust and selective catalysts, particularly metal and metal-oxide-based materials. Porous metal oxides offer high surface area, enhancing the accessibility to active sites and improving reaction kinetics. The tunability of these materials allows for tailored catalytic behavior, targeting optimized reaction mechanisms for CO2RR. The work also discusses the various synthesis strategies and identifies key structural and compositional features, addressing challenges like high overpotential, poor selectivity, and low stability. Based on these insights, we suggest avenues for future research on porous metal oxide materials for electrochemical CO2 reduction.