Promoting CO2 electroreduction on boron-doped diamond electrodes: Challenges and trends

Abstract CO2 electroreduction (eCO2R) into fuel products is a promising technology to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and store renewable energy. The main metal-based electrocatalysts widely employed in CO2 reduction are characterized by high overpotentials, low stability and unsatisfactory selectivity. As a result, a growing interest in the use of boron-doped diamond (BDD)-based electrocatalysts have been observed due to its excellent properties. This review sheds light on the techniques applied toward the eCO2R on BDD surface and the effects of the operational conditions. Particular emphasis will be given on recent advances made in the quest for enhancing the performance of BDD in eCO2R through its modification with defects insertion or functionalization with metal-based materials. The review will also present a brief overview of the challenges and directions of future research with respect to the development of different electrochemical systems for eCO2R on BDD electrodes.