CO2 Electroreduction into C2+ Products on Cu Surfaces: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities!

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 (CO2RR) on Cu surfaces represents a promising route for converting carbon dioxide into valuable multi-carbon (C2+) products, offering a sustainable pathway for carbon utilization. While Cu uniquely enables C-C coupling, its practical application is hindered by poor selectivity toward C2+ species and strong competition from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Although numerous studies have explored material modifications to enhance C2+ selectivity, a systematic comparison of the recently developed diverse strategies that span from surface engineering and electrolyte design to reaction environment control remain lacking. This review consolidates and critically evaluates the combined effects of these strategies, highlighting recent advances and identifying key challenges in achieving high C-C coupling selectivity. By integrating insights from recent literature, a comprehensive perspective that can guide future research toward more efficient and selective CO2RR on Cu catalysts is presented.