Strategy in Promoting Visible Light Absorption, Charge Separation, CO2 Adsorption and Proton Production for Efficient Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction with H2O.

Solar-energy-driven photocatalytic CO₂ reduction by H₂O to high-valuable carbon-containing chemicals has become one of the greatest concerns in both scientific and industrial communities, due to its potential in solving energy and environmental problems. However, efficiency of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction by H₂O is still far below the needs of large-scale applications. The reduction efficiency is closely related to ability of photocatalysts in absorbing visible light which is the main part of sunlight (44 %), separating photogenerated electron-hole pairs, adsorbing CO₂ and producing protons for reducing CO₂. Thus, photocatalysts with enhanced visible light absorption, electron-hole separation, CO₂ adsorption and proton production are highly desired. Herein, we aim to provide a picture of recent progresses in improving ability of photocatalysts in visible light absorption, electron-hole separation, CO₂ adsorption and proton production, and give an outlook for future researches associated with photocatalytic CO₂ reduction by H₂O.