Impacts of Engineered Catalyst Microenvironments using Conductive Polymers during Electrochemical CO2 reduction

The urgent demand on net-zero emissions urges solutions for sustainable energy and chemical processes. Electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2R) stands as a promising avenue in this pursuit, leveraging renewable energy sources to convert CO2 and H2O into valuable chemicals and fuels. Although fundamental knowledges have been acquired by the intensive research efforts for the last decades, challenges persist, particularly in achieving high activity, selectivity and long-term stability for commercialization of the technology. Addressing these challenges, recent investigations highlight the pivotal role of engineered catalyst microenvironments relating to mass and ion transportation. This review explores the impacts of leveraging conductive polymers in tailoring the catalyst microenvironments, thereby enhancing activity, selectivity and long-term stability, and offers valuable insights for advancing its technologies.