Maximizing electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to achieve closed-loop reactive capture

Abstract

Extracting carbon dioxide from factory exhausts or the open air is expensive, largely because it takes so much energy to free the trapped gas from the capture solvent. What if one device could instead convert that captured carbon directly into fuels and chemicals, while refreshing the solvent so it could be used again? This emerging route could make carbon capture cheaper and cleaner—but only if we master a tangle of competing reactions. This Review shows that converting as much of the captured carbon as possible is key to closing the loop and describes how researchers are starting to get there.