Anthropogenic CO₂ emissions engender a severe threat to the global ecosystem and consequently are a growing concern associated with traditional means of energy production. Direct electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into energy-rich fuels and value-added chemical feedstocks provides a promising route to realize a carbon-neutral energy cycle, and at the same time, store the electricity generated from intermittent renewable-energy sources. Thermodynamically, the CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) suffers from a high energy barrier of CO₂^•− formation (-1.90 V vs. SHE, pH = 7) and low selectivity due to the competing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Kinetically, multi-proton-coupled electron transfer steps upon CO₂RR render sluggish reaction processes [1]. To tackle the above issues, significant progress has been achieved on the optimization of catalysts, products, and systems. The ultimate viability of this technology is contingent upon the exploitation of low-cost catalytic systems capable of providing high energy efficiency and conversion rate.

中文翻译：

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增强电化学 CO2 还原的途径

人为 CO ₂排放对全球生态系统构成严重威胁，因此与传统能源生产方式相关的问题日益受到关注。将 CO ₂直接电催化还原为富含能量的燃料和高附加值的化学原料，为实现碳中性能源循环提供了一条有前景的途径，同时存储了间歇性可再生能源产生的电力。在热力学上，CO ₂还原反应 (CO ₂ RR) 受到 CO ₂ ^•-高能垒的影响由于竞争性析氢反应 (HER)，形成（-1.90 V vs. SHE，pH = 7）和低选择性。在动力学上，CO ₂ RR 上的多质子耦合电子转移步骤导致反应过程缓慢[1]。针对上述问题，在催化剂、产品和系统的优化方面取得了重大进展。这项技术的最终可行性取决于能够提供高能效和转化率的低成本催化系统的开发。