The emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) induced
by the
widespread use of fossil fuels has caused global warming and climate
issues. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction technology, which
utilizes solar energy to convert CO2 into carbon-based
fuels, provides a promising sustainable green way to ameliorate the
energy crisis and reduce CO2 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 CO2 to C2+ products. Starting from the discussion on the fundamental
mechanism of photocatalytic CO2 conversion to C2+ products,
the strategies of photocatalyst design for C2+ fuels synthesis from
CO2 are summarized. Particularly, the photocatalyst optimization
approaches for improving the activity and especially selectivity of
CO2 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.
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