Magnetic Modulation of Catalytic CO2 Reduction Reaction: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Perspectives

Abstract

Catalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) offers a promising approach for converting CO2 into value-added chemicals and fuels. However, its practical development remains limited by unfavorable reaction energetics, competition from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and complex product selectivity. Conventional catalyst regulation strategies predominantly rely on static structural design, whereas magnetic regulation introduces an additional degree of freedom through intrinsic spin-state engineering or external magnetic fields. This review systematically summarizes the recent research progress in magnetic regulation of CO2RR with emphasis on the links among spin states, spin-resolved electronic structures, intermediate adsorption, reaction thermodynamics, product selectivity, competing reactions, and charge-carrier dynamics. Importantly, catalytic changes induced by an external magnetic field are not automatically equivalent to spin-mediated effects because magnetohydrodynamic transport, Lorentz-force-driven mass transfer, thermal perturbations, and interfacial transport can also contribute. The review therefore discusses both intrinsic magnetic regulation and field-induced effects while highlighting the evidence required to distinguish spin-associated mechanisms from non-spin contributions, including direct magnetic or spin characterization, spectroscopic evidence, and electrochemical controls that assess transport and thermal effects. Strategies including doping, vacancies, heterojunctions, axial coordination, defect engineering, and applied magnetic fields are summarized, followed by perspectives on physics-informed machine learning, artificial intelligence, and operando sensing for catalyst screening and dynamic regulation.