Design of atomically dispersed catalytic sites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract

Photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into carbonaceous chemical fuels and building blocks is an intriguing strategy for solving fossil energy crisis and reducing CO₂ emission. Recently, development of atomically dispersed catalytic sites for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction has sparked tremendous interest as their coordinatively unsaturated states, tunable electronic structures and well-defined active sites provide versatile knobs for tuning CO₂ conversion. While this Minireview mainly highlights recent key developments in this important research field and elucidates the common fundamentals behind various materials systems, it also provides insights into the future development and emphasizes opportunities and challenges.