A review on plasmonic enhancement of activity and selectivity in electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction

Utilizing plasmonic effects to assist electrochemical reactions exhibits a huge potential in tuning the reaction activities and product selectivity, which is most appealing especially in chemical reactions with multiple products, such as CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). However, a comprehensive review of the development and the underlying mechanisms in plasmon-assisted electrocatalytic CO2RR remains few and far between. Herein, the fundamentals of localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) excitation and the properties of typical plasmonic metals (including Au, Ag, and Cu) are retrospected. Subsequently, the potential mechanisms of plasmonic effects (such as hot carrier effects and photothermal effects) on the reaction performance in the field of plasmon-assisted electrocatalytic CO₂RR are summarized, which provides directions for the future development of this field. It is concluded that plasmonic catalysts exhibit potential capabilities in enhancing CO₂RR while more in situ techniques are essential to further clarify the inner mechanisms.