Opportunities and Challenges in CO₂ Reduction by Gold- and Silver-Based Electrocatalysts: From Bulk Metals to Nanoparticles and Atomically Precise Nanoclusters

To tackle the excessive emission of greenhouse gas CO2, electrocatalytic reduction has been recognized as a promising way. Given the multielectron, multiproduct nature of the CO2 reduction process, an ideal catalyst should be capable of converting CO2 with high rates as well as high selectivity to either gas-phase (e.g., CO, CH4) or liquid-phase products (e.g., HCOOH, CH3OH, etc.). Gold- and silver-based materials have been extensively...