Integrated CO2 capture and electrochemical reduction: From mechanism understanding to gas diffusion electrode and catalyst design

Integrating the CO2 capture process with the CO2 electrochemical reduction process into a single system can eliminate the need for storage and transportation following CO2 capture. This integrated process offers several advantages over multi-step cascade processes, including reduced costs and enhanced CO2 utilization. However, the integrated CO2 capture and electrochemical reduction (CCER) process encounters several challenges, including the low CO2 adsorption performance of the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) and catalyst, as well as the poor activity and selectivity of the catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO2. This review aims to systematically summarize the fundamentals of the CCER process. Based on an in-depth understanding of the CO2 mass transfer, adsorption, and electrochemical reduction processes, GDE design strategies based on the modulation of wettability and structure are discussed to enhance the CO2 capture capability at the GDE level. At the catalyst level, catalyst design strategies based on the introduction of CO2 capture sites and the construction of CO2 mass transfer channels were analyzed, and catalyst design strategies for enhanced CO2 capture were proposed. This review summarizes the most common catalysts for CO2 electrochemical reduction, such as Ni-based, Bi-based, and Cubased catalysts, and analyzes their design strategies based on reaction pathways for generating specific products. Finally, the problems and challenges of the CCER process are summarized and proposed, which provide ideas for the further application of this technology in the future. (c) 2025 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.