The continuous rise in carbon dioxide (CO_2) concentration in the atmosphere is known to be one of the main causes of global climate change. The use of CO_2 as a precursor in the production of synthetic fuels and other industrial chemicals offers a way to mitigate climate change. The direct conversion of CO_2 to industrial low-carbon chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, formate and methane, using electrochemical approaches has attracted attention. One of the main challenges encountered is overcoming the high activation energy required to convert surface adsorbed CO_2 into CO_2~(·-) which leads to high overpotential. The search for a cost-effective non-noble metal has led to the exploration of cobalt-based materials as a viable catalyst for CO_2 reduction reaction. Although, Co is widely used as a catalyst for electrochemical water splitting, recent findings shows that Co and Co-oxides can lead to the reduction of CO_2 to CO and formate with high faradaic efficiencies, In this study, different Co-based nanomaterials including nanoparticles and nanodendrites were synthesized. The formed nanomaterials were studied using a wide range of surface characterization techniques and electrochemical methods. The catalytic activity of the synthesized Co-based nanoparticles and nanodendrites towards the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide will be compared and discussed.
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