Advances in Modulating the Activity and Selectivity of Photocatalytic CO<sub>2</sub> Reduction to Multicarbon Products
Le Liao, Guanshun Xie, Xiuqiang Xie, Nan Zhang
Abstract
The emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) induced by the widespread use of fossil fuels has caused global warming and climate issues. Photocatalytic CO 2 reduction technology, which utilizes solar energy to convert CO 2 into carbon-based fuels, provides a promising sustainable green way to ameliorate the energy crisis and reduce CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere. Multicarbon products (C2+) with higher energy density and larger market value attract widespread research interests. This review is focused on the recent progress of photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to C2+ products. Starting from the discussion on the fundamental mechanism of photocatalytic CO 2 conversion to C2+ products, the strategies of photocatalyst design for C2+ fuels synthesis from CO 2 are summarized. Particularly, the photocatalyst optimization approaches for improving the activity and especially selectivity of CO 2 reduction reaction (CRR) to access C2+ products are highlighted. Finally, some personal outlook on this research direction of photocatalytic CRR to C2+ products is presented. This review is expected to evoke more research attention on the value-added C2+ fuels synthesis from solar energy powered CRR.