Photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction over nanomaterials

Harnessing solar power to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels is a crucial channel to alleviate the global energy shortage and environment pollution. Photothermal catalytic conversion of CO2 into value-added fuels or chemicals, e.g., carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), and methanol (CH3OH), offers an effective, economical, and eco-friendly solution to obtain “sunshine” feedstocks by coupling renewable solar energy with heat energy. In this review, we begin by briefly describing the fundamentals for photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction. Subsequently, we summarize the types of nanocatalysts for photothermal catalysis and their design strategies, where we propose two major photothermal catalytic mechanisms based on semiconductors and plasmonic metals, followed by three key design strategies of nanomaterials for photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction. Then, we expatiate the recent typical applications of photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction. Finally, we present our vision of the future developments and challenges in this exciting research field.