Rational design of bimetallic catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction: A review

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) is a compelling approach to convert CO2 into high-value fuels and chemicals using renewable energies. The rational design of catalysts is of great importance for achieving outstanding performance of this process. Metal-based catalysts have been drawing enormous attention in eCO2RR due to their excellent catalytic performance and flexible selectivity. In the pursuit of overcoming the inherent disadvantages of monometallic catalysts and achieving breakthroughs in the catalytic performance, bimetallic strategy has been receiving extensive concerns and achieving remarkable results over decades. In this review, we attempt to give a comprehensive review on the bimetallic catalysts that are used for eCO2RR. The effects in bimetallic catalysts that contribute to the enhanced eCO2RR performance are first analyzed, demonstrating the superiority of bimetallic strategy. Then, the structural design of bimetallic catalysts is discussed as it plays a key role in eCO2RR. Finally, the current advances and rules of selectivity of bimetallic catalysts in eCO2RR are summarized based on the selectivity behaviors. By reviewing efforts devoted in this field, this review is believed to present a timely overview of the progress of bimetallic eCO2RR catalysts and to offer potential future directions in the aim of developing highly efficient catalysts for eCO2RR.