Photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction by photocatalyst innovation

The rising CO2 level, population boom and increasing energy demand prompts the need of an efficient and sustainable solution to tackle the global warming issue. Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission through the conversion of detrimental CO2 into methanol is one of the most promising solutions for optimising economic and resource efficiency. The utilisation of the abundant and sustainable sunlight to replace thermal and electric energy for CO2 conversion to valuable chemicals is a highly sustainable process and attracted much research interests. Herein, we summarised the catalytic methods for CO2 conversion to methanol, reviewed the photocatalytic properties and efficient photocatalysts, as well as their performance. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) as a new member of the carbon nanomaterials family have attracted increasing attention owing to their excellent photoluminescence property, light harvesting capability, charge recombination suppression and effective electron transport ability. This paper highlighted the multifaceted roles of CQDs in photocatalytic reactions. To this end, the challenges and future directions of CQDs-based photocatalysts have been outlined. (C) 2018 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.