Photocathode engineering for efficient photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO2 reduction integrates the merits of photocatalysis and electrolysis and represents an effective route to realize the solar-driven production of chemical fuels from CO2 reduction. Over recent years, tremendous efforts have been devoted to the design and engineering of photocathodes so as to improve their PEC performances with many exciting progresses. Herein, we provide a review on the latest advances in this field. We first introduce the fundamental working principle, current challenges, and performance figures of merits of PEC CO2 reduction. It is then followed by detailed discussion about a number of strategies for photocathode engineering aiming to promoting the three key reaction steps: light absorption, charge separation/transport, and surface catalytic reaction. Finally, we present a brief conclusion and perspective about possible future research directions of this field. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.