Back Cover Image, Volume 3, Number 1, March 2021

Abstract

Back cover image: The electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R) to value‐added fuels and chemicals by using renewable electricity provides a cleaner and more sustainable route with economic benefits. In article number https://doi.org/10.1002/cey2.87, Jinli Qiao et al. review the recent progress of the activity, product selectivity and stability in carbon‐based metal‐free catalysts. The key challenges and future potential approaches for efficient eCO2R to low carbon‐based fuels are highlighted. The role of electrolytes, electrochemical cells design and evaluation, product selectivity and structural composition are also mentioned.

Nitrogen‐Rich Carbonaceous Materials for Advanced Oxygen Electrocatalysis: Synthesis, Characterization, and Activity of Nitrogen Sites

“…[25] Subsequently, N-doped carbon nanomaterials have been further proved as excellent catalysts exhibiting a long lifetime, enhanced tolerance, and versatility in functionality, being able to catalyze various reactions including the OER, oxidative dehydrogenation, CO 2 reduction, among others. [23,26] The wide diversity of possible nitrogen sites offers a large panel of N-doped carbon electrocatalysts. [22,27] The improved electrocatalytic performance of N-doped carbons compared to other carbon-based catalysts is generally assigned to the electronaccepting ability of the nitrogen atoms.…”

Microenvironment Engineering for the Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction Reaction

“…Electronegativity‐based tuning to optimize the eCO 2 RR catalytic performance is generally focused on carbon‐based materials, which are promising candidates due to their low cost, good durability, and tunable pore features [46] . In fact, most of the carbon‐based materials are inert to eCO 2 RR unless their electronic structure has been modulated by doping with heteroatoms or creating intrinsic defects [3a, 46c] . In particular, three types of dopant species are efficient to realize this target (Figure 4), including electron‐withdrawing (E‐W) heteroatoms (N, S, F, etc.…”

Computational Studies on Carbon Dots Electrocatalysis: A Review

“…[194] The selectivity of the products is controlled through the selection of different materials and the application of different reduction potentials. [30,195] Therefore, the selection of an appropriate electrocatalyst for CO 2 RR is very important.…”

“…However, the linear structure and chemical inertness of CO 2 molecules make the electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 extremely challenging, and the selectivity of different products is also an important research topic to be solved in CO 2 RR. [26][27][28][29][30] In view of the importance of electrocatalytic reactions, researchers are committed to developing low-cost, high-activity, and durable alternative catalysts, including metal-based catalysts, non-metal carbon materials, and transition metal oxide materials, but the stability and electrocatalytic activity are still unsatisfactory. [31][32][33][34] Carbon materials have been widely used as electrocatalyst carriers due to their good electrical conductivity, large surface area, and strong stability.…”