Fig 1

(a) Some common Im-ILs and their abbreviations. (b) Schematic of interactions presented in Im-ILs. Adapted from American Chemical Society 39, Elsevier 46, respectively."

Fig 2

(a) FE towards CO and H2, turnover rate and energy efficiency as a function of cell potential. (b) A schematic of the free energy changes during the reaction CO2 + 2H+ + 2e− ⇋ CO + H2O in water or acetonitrile (solid line) or Emim-BF4 (dashed line). Adapted from American Association for the Advancement of Science 50."

Fig 3

Effect of current density and FE using [Bmim][PF6](30%, mass fraction)/AcN-H2O electrolytes with different H2O contents. FE of HCOOH on (a) Pb and (b) Sn electrodes; partial current density of HCOOH (jHCOOH) on (c) Pb and (d) Sn electrodes; the dependence of current density over time on (e) Pb and (f) Sn electrodes. Adapted from Wiley 43."

Fig 4

Mechanism of CO2RR involving an imidazolium-carboxylic acid/carboxylate species, proposed by (a) Rosen et al. 50, (b) Kemna et al. 47, (c) Zhao et al. 72. (d) Possible binding modes of [Emim]+ with an electro-generated CO2 anion radical on a silver surface. Hydrogen bonds represented by dashed line (red). Reaction pathways for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 in the (e) absence and (f, g) presence of [Emim][Tf2N] at a Pb electrode in MeCN. Adapted from American Chemical Society 47, 50, 71, 72, 78, respectively. Color online."

Fig 5

Overview of the action of imidazolium l igands on a AgNC surface. Adapted from Royal Society of Chemistry 87."

Fig 6

(a) Illustration of CO2RR on a polycrystalline Cu electrode modified with an imidazolium organic film. (b) FE of gaseous products over ∼37 h with an imidazolium organic film-modified Cu electrode in a 0.1 mol∙L−1 KHCO3 electrolyte at −1.24 vs. RHE. Adapted from American Chemical Society 82."

Fig 7

(a,  b) Structural models for Co-iBFBim-COF-I− (a) and Co-BFBim-COF (b). Light blue, dark blue, red and pink atoms represent carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and cobalt, respectively. Color online. (c) Schematic of a MEA electrolyzer. (d) FECO of Co-iBFBim-COF-X (X = F−, Cl−, Br−, and I−) and Co-BFBim-COF. (e) jCO of Co-iBFBim-COF-X (X = F−, Cl−, Br−, and I−) and Co-BFBim-COF. (f) Comparison of the optimal FECO and EE with the reported SACs, metal electrocatalysts evaluated in a MEA electrolyzer. Adapted from Wiley 11."

Fig 8

(a) Schematic illustration of the nanoconfined ILs strategy. (b) TEM image, scale bar: 100 nm. (c) HAADF-STEM image, scale bar: 2 nm. (d) EDS mapping, scale bar: 100 nm. (e) SAED pattern. Electrochemical performances of Ni-N-C/[Bmim][PF6] for electroreduction of diluted CO2. (f) LSV curves in diluted CO2 (5%, 10%, 50%) and pure CO2. (g) FECO of Ni-N-C and Ni-N-C/[Bmim][PF6] in 10% and 50% CO2. (h) jCO per ECSA of Ni-N-C and Ni-N-C/[Bmim][PF6] in 10% and 50% CO2. (i) IF values for Ni-N-C/[Bmim][PF6] based on Ni-N-C in 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% CO2 concentrations at different applied potentials. Error bars indicate the standard deviation of three independent samples. Adapted from American Chemical Society 98, Elsevier 34, respectively."

Fig 9

(a) Scheme of Cb ligand exchange reaction on Au NPs. TEM image of (b) Au-Oa NP and (c) Au-Cb NP, scale bar, 20 nm. HRTEM image of (d) Au-Oa NP and (e) Au-Cb NP with 5-fold twin structures, scale bar, 2 nm. (f) LSV scans of Au-Cb NP, Au NP/C, free carbene and molecular Au-Cb complex under CO2-saturated 0.1 mol∙L−1 KHCO3 at pH 6.8. (g) FE of products formed from Au-Cb NP and Au NP/C. (h) Specific CO current density plots for Au-Cb NP and Au NP/C. (i) Tafel plots of Au-Cb NP and Au NP/C. Adapted from American Chemical Society 120."

Fig 10

(a) Synthetic scheme for the preparation of tripodal NHCs and functionalization of Pd surfaces; (b) Free-energy diagrams for CO2 reduction to HCOOH on Pd(111) and Pd(111)-timtmbMe. Adapted from Wiley 123."