Electrocatalytic CO₂ Reduction to Ethylene: From Advanced Catalyst Design to Industrial Applications

The value-added chemicals, monoxide, methane, ethylene, ethanol, ethane, and so on, can be efficiently generated through the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (eCO₂ RR) when equipped with suitable catalysts. Among them, ethylene is particularly important as a chemical feedstock for petrochemical manufacture. However, despite its high Faradaic efficiency achievable at relatively low current densities, the substantial enhancement of ethylene selectivity and stability at industrial current densities poses a formidable challenge. To facilitate the industrial implementation of eCO₂ RR for ethylene production, it is imperative to identify key strategies and potential solutions through comprehending the recent advancements, remaining challenges, and future directions. Herein, the latest and innovative catalyst design strategies of eCO₂ RR to ethylene are summarized and discussed, starting with the properties of catalysts such as morphology, crystalline, oxidation state, defect, composition, and surface engineering. The review subsequently outlines the related important state-of-the-art technologies that are essential in driving forward eCO₂ RR to ethylene into practical applications, such as CO₂ capture, product separation, and downstream reactions. Finally, a greenhouse model that integrates CO₂ capture, conversion, storage, and utilization is proposed to present an ideal perspective direction of eCO₂ RR to ethylene.