Recent Advances of Photocatalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol

Constantly increasing hydrocarbon fuel combustion along with high levels of carbon dioxide emissions has given rise to a global energy crisis and environmental alterations. Photocatalysis is an effective technique for addressing this energy and environmental crisis. Clean and renewable solar energy is a very favourable path for photocatalytic CO2 reduction to value-added products to tackle problems of energy and the environment. The synthesis of various products such as CH4, CH3OH, CO, EtOH, etc., has been expanded through the photocatalytic reduction of CO2. Among these products, methanol is one of the most important and highly versatile chemicals widely used in industry and in day-to-day life. This review emphasizes the recent progress of photocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation to CH3OH. In particular, Metal organic frameworks (MOFs), mixed-metal oxide, carbon, TiO2 and plasmonic-based nanomaterials are discussed for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to methanol. Finally, a summary and perspectives on this emerging field are provided.