Recent advances on TiO2-based photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Abstract

The sufficient supply of energy remains one of the most important challenges for a sustainable development of our society. In this respect, capturing sunlight energy by photocatalytic reduction of the greenhouse gas CO₂ is interesting. In a more general way, the smart use of CO₂ as C₁-feedstock and its conversion to valuable carbon-based materials and energy sources can be the basis to establish a closed-CO₂ cycle. This review summarizes recent advances in photocatalytic utilization of CO₂ catalyzed by most prominent TiO₂ based systems. The influences of different structures (i.e. crystal phase, morphology, vacancies, and defects), co-catalysts, and reaction conditions onto the catalyst performance are specifically highlighted. Furthermore, the reader attention is drawn to the oxidation counter reaction, which has been often neglected in the past.