Metal halide perovskites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction: An overview and prospects

As the increasing consumption of fossil fuels, the CO2 emission rapidly increased, which has severely caused energy crisis and climate problems. Directly converting CO2 to high added value chemical fuels via solar energy harvesting offers a route to alleviate these problems. To realize this goal, a photocatalyst of low cost, high efficiency and practical durability is urgently needed. Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have been used as important materials for application in photovoltaics field, which also have been con-sidered ideal materials for photocatalytic CO2 reduction recently, since the first report in 2017. This review focuses on the physicochemical properties, synthesis methods, the overview advances of different strategies for MHPs promoting the performance of photocatalytic CO2 conversion to solar fuels, including size and facets effects, ion doping or exchange, anchored cocatalysts, semiconductor heterojunctions and Pb-free MHPs. Based on these advances, the main challenges of stability and toxicity, photocatalytic activity and selectivity, prospects of theoretical calculations, and solar cell device and derived catalytic applications of MHPs are also proposed. This review sheds light on the construction of efficient MHPs toward industrialization applications for CO2 reduction in future.(c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

With the increasing consumption of fossil fuels, the rapid increase in CO2 emissions has led to energy crisis and climate problems. Converting CO2 directly to high-value chemical fuels through solar energy harvesting provides a solution to these problems. This review focuses on the physicochemical properties and synthesis methods of metal halide perovskites (MHPs), as well as the advancements in strategies for enhancing the photocatalytic CO2 conversion to solar fuels, such as size and facets effects, ion doping or exchange, anchored cocatalysts, semiconductor heterojunctions, and Pb-free MHPs. The challenges of stability and toxicity, photocatalytic activity and selectivity, prospects of theoretical calculations, and potential applications of MHPs in solar cell devices and catalysis are also discussed. This review sheds light on the development of efficient MHPs for industrial applications in CO2 reduction.