Stability and Degradation Mechanisms of Copper-Based Catalysts for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction.

To date, copper is the only monometallic catalyst that can electrochemically reduce CO2 into high value and energy-dense products, such as hydrocarbons and alcohols. In recent years, great efforts have been directed towards understanding how its nanoscale structure affects activity and selectivity for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR). Furthermore, many attempts have been made to improve these two properties. Nevertheless, to advance towards applied systems, the stability of the catalysts during electrolysis is of great significance. This aspect, however, remains less investigated and discussed across the CO2 RR literature. In this Minireview, the recent progress on understanding the stability of copper-based catalysts is summarized, along with the very few proposed degradation mechanisms. Finally, our perspective on the topic is given.