title: The Mechanism of Room-Temperature Ionic-Liquid-Based Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction: A Review.
abstract: Electrochemical CO₂ conversion technology is becoming indispensable in the development of a sustainable carbon-based economy. While various types of electrocatalytic systems have been designed, those based on room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have attracted considerable attention because of their high efficiencies and selectivities. Furthermore, it should be possible to develop more advanced electrocatalytic systems for commercial use because target-specific characteristics can be fine-tuned using various combinations of RTIL ions. To achieve this goal, we require a systematic understanding of the role of the RTIL components in electrocatalytic systems, however, their role has not yet been clarified by experiment or theory. Thus, the purpose of this short review is to summarize recent experimental and theoretical mechanistic studies to provide insight into and to develop guidelines for the successful development of new CO₂ conversion systems. The results discussed here can be summarized as follows. Complex physical and chemical interactions between the RTIL components and the reaction intermediates, in particular at the electrode surface, are critical for determining the activity and selectivity of the electrocatalytic system, although no single factor dominates. Therefore, more fundamental research is required to understand the physical, chemical, and thermodynamic characteristics of complex RTIL-based electrocatalytic systems.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of EEWS, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea. zinnia7@kaist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyung-Kyu
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of EEWS, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Korea. linus16@kaist.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyungjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D002245:Carbon Dioxide
keywords: carbon dioxide; electrocatalytic system; faradic efficiency; product selectivity; room-temperature ionic-liquid