Strategies for Improving The Microenvironment in Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction Using Nanostructured Catalysts

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) represents a promising approach toward the carbon-neutral generation of hydrocarbons. However, despite intense research efforts, the need remains to increase selectivity and activity for electrocatalysts for CO₂RR. In order to accomplish these goals, there has been increasing interest in optimizing the microenvironment to boost the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic sites for CO₂ conversion. However, the functional understanding of how to tune the microenvironment is still under development.<br/><br/>This presentation discusses several strategies that are being pursued in my research group to illustrate design principles to optimize the microenvironment for CO₂ conversion, which include:<br/><br/>(1) Nanostructured model systems to illustrate control of diffusion via engineering electrode structure at micro- and nano-length scales<br/><br/>(2) Nanostructured model systems to harness localization of tandem catalysts.<br/><br/>This talk will also share perspectives about harnessing nanoscale materials to control and enhance the microenvironment in order to enhance CO₂ conversion.