Polymer Materials for Advanced Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction: Multifunctional Design and Applications

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) has emerged as a promising strategy for sustainable chemical production, utilizing renewable electricity to convert CO2 into value-added products. Polymer materials play multifaceted roles in advancing this technology through their unique ability to regulate charge and ion transport during CO2RR. In this Perspective, we review recent progress in polymer materials for CO2RR, focusing on their roles in developing electrodes and electrolytes for efficient charge and ion transport. As interfacial modifiers, cationic polymers demonstrate exceptional capability in stabilizing critical reaction intermediates, thereby enhancing catalytic selectivity. Conductive polymer electrodes show significant promise for optimizing the interfacial contacts between catalyst and electrode, facilitating interfacial electron transfer during CO2RR. When engineered as solid-state electrolytes in CO2 electrolyzers, the ion-conducting polymers enable direct synthesis of high-purity, concentrated liquid products, bypassing energy-intensive postprocessing. Finally, we identify unresolved challenges and outline future research avenues to accelerate the design of next-generation polymer-based electrodes and electrolytes for efficient and sustainable CO2 electrolyzers.