How to rationally design homogeneous catalysts for efficient CO₂ electroreduction?

Electrified converting CO₂ into valuable fuels and chemicals using a homogeneous electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂ER) approach simplifies the operation, providing a potential option for decoupling energy harvesting and renewable chemical production. These merits benefit the scenarios where decentralization and intermittent power are key factors. This perspective aims to provide an overview of recent progress in homogeneous CO₂ER. We introduce firstly the fundamentals chemistry of the homogeneous CO₂ER, followed by a summary of the crucial factors and the important criteria broadly employed for evaluating the performance. We then highlight the recent advances in the most widely explored transition-metal coordinate complexes for the C₁ and multicarbon (C₂₊) products from homogeneous CO₂ER. Finally, we summarize the remaining challenges and opportunities for developing homogeneous electrocatalysts for efficient CO₂ER. This perspective is expected to favor the rational design of efficient homogeneous electrocatalysts for selective CO₂ER toward renewable fuels and feedstocks.