Strain Effects in Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction

As a frontier method for adjusting the electronic and geometric configurations of metal sites, lattice strain engineering plays a key role in regulating the interaction between catalytic surface and adsorbed molecules. Here, the research progress of strain effects in electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR) is reviewed. Starting from the basic principles of strain effects in the CO2RR, the advanced in situ characterization techniques are summarized. The key effect of strain on the structure-activity relationship in CO2RR is comprehensively discussed. Subsequently, the electrocatalysts with different properties rich in strain are classified, including core-shell structure catalysts, alloys, transition metal compounds, and single-atom catalysts. Finally, the obstacles encountered in the practical application of strain effect are proposed, and the future research direction of this emerging field is prospected.