Photocatalytic upcycling of captured carbon dioxide: current research progress and future directions

Abstract

The development of efficient CO₂ capture technology coupled with its photocatalytic conversion into high-value chemicals represents a promising pathway to address environmental and energy challenges while advancing global carbon neutrality. Recently, integrated strategies coupling CO₂ capture with in situ photocatalytic conversion have attracted widespread research interest due to their potential to bypass energy-intensive steps such as CO₂ desorption, purification, and compression, leading to significant progress in this field. This review systematically summarizes advances in such coupled systems, focusing on three key aspects: first, it evaluates CO₂ capture media (e.g., amine-based solid adsorbents, porous materials, MOFs etc.) compatible with photocatalytic processes and analyzes the synergy between capture mechanisms and photo-reduction. Furthermore, it addresses the long-overlooked issue of kinetic mismatch between capture and conversion, elucidating its impact on reaction pathways and system performance. Finally, this review proposes a paradigm shift from spatial coupling to temporal regulation and discusses remaining challenges and potential solutions. By synthesizing recent developments and identifying future directions, this review aims to provide a theoretical foundation and design principles for building efficient and stable integrated CO₂ capture-photocatalysis systems, thereby accelerating their practical application and industrial adoption.