Review—CO2 Attenuation: Electrochemical Methods and Perspectives

Abstract

Anthropogenic CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion have led to the serious environmental consequence of global warming and associated climate change. Valorization of CO2 to value-added chemicals by electrochemical reduction has been suggested as one of the promising approaches of CO2 attenuation owing to its simple operational requirements and ambient process conditions. However, the sluggish kinetics and high overpotential of several CO2 reduction processes remain a challenge to its practical utility unless efficient electrocatalysts are applied. Over the past years, several electrocatalysts have been reported for the purpose with varying degree of success. In the current review, we critically evaluate the efficiency of various reported catalysts systems summarizing their advantages as limitations and providing insights into their mechanism of action. Based on the detailed review of different catalysts systems the outlook and future directions are proposed.