Bibliographic study on the electroreduction of CO2 using Cu-Metal cathodes

Abstract

CO2 is a gas released from the burning of fossil fuels that has a major impact on the greenhouse effect and worsening climate change. This is why, in recent years, studies have been carried out on possible new processes to reduce these emissions. The CO2 reduction reaction is a process that allows the use of CO2 as a raw material to obtain products of interest, such as alcohols and hydrocarbons. The main objective of CO2 electroreduction is the study of different metal catalysts and working parameters, such as current density, applied potential and faradaic efficiency, to obtain the most efficient CO2 conversion. Also, reaction conditions such as temperature or pH must be considered, as they can influence the selectivity and efficiency of the products. Different experimental studies have used various metals as catalysts, but only Cu and its alloys have shown good results in the conversion of this gas. Apart from the experimental studies, theoretical studies have been carried out to be able to expand the investigation of this process without having any type of limitation. This fact has made it possible to analyse the current challenges and the future perspectives in this field. Even so, these studies cannot end without an economic and environmental analysis to see the economic profitability and the impact on the environment of this process. Therefore, the study of the different Cu alloys and the working conditions, together with the economic and environmental viability, to achieve the most efficient conversion of CO2 and achieve the reduction of the emissions of this gas, are the objectives of this work