A Perspective on the Reaction Mechanisms of CO₂ Electrolysis

In this work, we analyze the current state of mechanistic understanding in CO₂ electrolysis and give our best analysis of what we believe is the most dominant mechanism for the predominant products in CO₂ electrolysis. We draw on both computational and experimental literature to develop conclusions for C1 and C2 products. From this, we develop a set of self-consistent mechanistic rules. As the volume of literature on the mechanism toward C3 products is substantially smaller than on C1 and C2 products, these rules help us in evaluating mechanistic pathways toward C3 products. While these mechanistic pathways are speculative, it does give us a point of reference that can be modified in the future based on further developments in the field.