Reflections on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide on metallic surfaces

It is known that carbon dioxide undergoes electrochemical reduction to a variety of products like CO, hydrocarbons and alcohols on metallic surfaces and that the nature of the metal has a role to play in the observed selectivity of products. Rationalization of the results obtained on different metallic surfaces and accounting for the selectivity have been the points of contention in literature. This presentation examines these aspects from the point of view of surface activation of carbon dioxide and proposes a site specific and geometry constrained adsorption of carbon dioxide as the possible reason for the variation in the results reported in literature.