Photothermal conversion of CO2 to fuel with nickel-based catalysts: A review

Converting CO₂ to fuel is a promising strategy to mitigate the greenhouse effect and achieve ‘carbon neutrality’. Photothermal catalysis has been widely used for CO₂ reduction because it effectively reduces the apparent activation energy of the reaction and provides milder catalytic conditions as well as higher catalytic efficiency than conventional catalytic methods. In this review, the basic principles of photothermal catalytic CO₂ reduction and the factors used to evaluate photothermal catalytic conversion efficiency are introduced. Then, the common types of Ni-based catalysts and their design strategies are summarized and discussed. Among these catalysts, metal oxides have been extensively studied and developed. Accordingly, they currently achieve product yields up to the mmol/(g·h) level. Strategies such as elemental doping and morphology control are often adopted for the modification of photothermal catalysts as a means to improve catalytic performance. Finally, future trends in the field of photothermal catalytic CO₂ reduction are proposed, including mechanistic studies, practical applications, and coupling with other carbon-neutral technologies.