Electrochemical CO2 reduction with earth-abundant metal catalysts

Energy production and CO2 emissions are strictly connected. One of the most efficient and straightforward mitigations to the climate change is the conversion of CO2 into chemicals that may play the role of energy vectors in a carbon-based energy cycle. Practical aspects of using abundant and low-cost materials are crucial for real-world applications, in particular redox catalysts with high turnover number, selectivity, and efficiency to overcome the CO2 stability. The difficult process of achieving new technologies benefits from the knowledge and experience of previous achievements, guiding researchers toward new discoveries. This article briefly illustrates and discusses the main findings that have paved the way of CO2 conversion to fuels or fuel precursors by electrochemical methods using redox catalysts that may find concrete applications.