Recent Advances in Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Using Earth-Abundant Metal Complexes-Derived Photocatalysts

Photochemical reduction of CO2 with H2O into energy-rich chemicals using inexhaustible solar energy is an appealing strategy to simultaneously address the global energy and environmental issues. Earth-abundant metal complexes show promising application in this field due to their easy availability, rich redox valence and tunable property. Great progress has been seen on catalytic reduction of CO2 under visible light illumination employing earth-abundant metal complexes and their hybrids as key contributors, especially for producing CO and HCOOH via the two-electron reduction process. In this minireview, we will summarize and update advances on earth-abundant metal complex-derived photocatalytic system for visible-light driven CO2 photoreduction over the last 5years. Homogeneous earth-abundant metal complex photocatalysts and earth-abundant metal complex derived hybrid photocatalysts were both presented with focus on efficient improvement strategy.