Pd-Containing Nanostructures for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Reaction

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), with water as a hydrogen source, has been attracting great attention due to its promising applications for carbon recycle utilization and renewable electricity storage. In order to drive the process economically, highly efficient catalysts are urgently needed to overcome the constraints of high overpotential, low Faradaic efficiency, and current density of CO2RR. This Perspective summarizes the performance of Pd-containing nanostructures toward CO2RR and related reaction mechanisms. The product selectivity of the Pd catalysts strongly depends on the structure and composition, and the dynamic evolution of active phases induced by the applied potential and reaction intermediate of CO2RR. Introducing a second metal can effectively suppress the decay in the catalytic performance of a Pd catalyst and further improve the activity and selectivity of CO2RR. The electrochemical promotion of catalysis effect drastically improves the production rate of formate over Pd nanoparticles, which demonstrates the advantage of the coupled thermo- and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction. The challenges and tentative strategies for the further application of Pd-containing catalysts in CO2RR are also discussed.