Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to fuels and chemical feedstocks using renewable electricity provides a promising approach toward artificial carbon recycling to address the global challenges in energy and sustainability. The most crucial step for this technique is to develop efficient electrocatalysts capable of reducing CO2 to valuable hydrocarbon products at a low overpotential with high selectivity and stability. In this article, we present a review on the recent developments and understanding of p-block post-transition metal (e.g., Sn, In, Pb, and Bi) based electrocatalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction. This group of electrocatalysts shows particularly high selectivity for reduction of CO2 to formate or formic acid. Our main focus will be on the fundamental understanding of surface chemistry, active sites, reaction mechanism, and structure–activity relationships. Strategies to enhance the activity including morphology control, nanostructuring, defect engineering, doping, and alloying to modulate the electronic structure will also be briefly discussed. Finally, we summarize the existing challenges and present perspectives for the future development of this exciting field.

中文翻译：

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P-block 金属基（Sn、In、Bi、Pb）电催化剂用于选择性还原 CO2 以形成甲酸盐

使用可再生电力将 CO2 电化学还原为燃料和化学原料，为人工碳循环提供了一种有前景的方法，以应对能源和可持续性方面的全球挑战。该技术最关键的一步是开发高效的电催化剂，能够以低过电位将 CO2 还原为有价值的烃类产品，同时具有高选择性和稳定性。在本文中，我们回顾了基于 p 区过渡金属（例如，Sn、In、Pb 和 Bi）的电催化剂用于电化学 CO2 还原的最新发展和理解。这组电催化剂在将 CO2 还原为甲酸盐或甲酸方面表现出特别高的选择性。我们的主要重点是对表面化学、活性位点、反应机制、和构效关系。还将简要讨论增强活性的策略，包括形态控制、纳米结构、缺陷工程、掺杂和合金化以调节电子结构。最后，我们总结了现有的挑战，并对这个令人兴奋的领域的未来发展提出了展望。