Heteroatom-doped carbon materials and their composites as electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction

Excessive emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) has caused serious environmental issues, which threaten sustainable development of human civilization. Electrochemical reduction reactions of CO2 (CO2RR) to high-value fuels and chemicals may be one of the promising routes to solving this problem. One key challenge that hinders the development of CO2RR techniques is the sluggish reaction kinetics, which could be addressed by high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Recently, heteroatom-doped carbon materials (H-CMs) have shown excellent catalytic activity and good stability simultaneously as electrocatalysts for CO2RR. In this review, the fundamental principles, research techniques, and electrochemical performances for CO2RR are first summarized in detail. Then, reaction mechanisms and corresponding catalytic sites for H-CMs in CO2RR are discussed in depth. Finally, several possible strategies are proposed as guidance for the design and preparation of high performance H-CMs for CO2RR.