Organic and Non-Precious Metal Photosensitizers for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the primary greenhouse gas responsible for global warming, posing a significant challenge to the global environment. To reduce CO₂ emission and support the sustainable development, efficient conversion of CO₂ into chemical feedstocks has gained a lot of attention. One promising strategy inspired by natural photosynthesis is solar-driven CO₂ reduction, which uses appropriate photocatalytic systems to generate CO, HCOOH, CH₄, CH₃OH, etc. However, developing low-cost, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic materials for the catalytic conversion of CO₂ remains a significant challenge. Light-absorbing photosensitizers play an important role in photocatalytic systems. Recently, non-precious metal photosensitizers such as organic compounds and earth-abundant metal complexes have been intensively studied for developing low-cost photocatalytic systems. This review focuses on recent reports on organic and non-precious metal photosensitizers for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction.