Solar‐powered chemistry: Engineering low‐dimensional carbon nitride‐based nanostructures for selective CO2 conversion to C1C2 products

Abstract

Abstract CO2 capture and conversion has been prospected as an auspicious technology to simultaneously tackle the rise in global CO2 emission and produce value‐added fuels with the goal of accomplishing carbon neutrality. A sustainable route to achieve this is via the utilization of solar energy, thereby harnessing the abundant and nonexhaustive resource to shift our reliance away from rapidly depleting fossil fuels. Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) and its allotrope have earned its rank as a fascinating metal‐free photocatalyst due to its superior stability, high surface‐area‐to‐volume ratio, and tunable surface engineering. By leveraging these properties, robust carbon nitride‐based nanostructures are engineered for photocatalytic CO2 conversion to energy‐rich C1C2 product, which is indispensable in the chemical industry. Thus, this review presents the latest panorama of experimental and computational research on tuning the local electronic, surface chemical coordination environment, charge dynamics and optical properties of low‐dimensional carbon nitride and its allotropes toward highly selective and efficient CO2 photoconversion. To name a few, structural engineering, point‐defect engineering, heterojunction construction, and cocatalyst loading. To advance this frontier, critical insights are elucidated to establish the structure‐performance relationship and unravel primary factors dictating the selectivity of C1C2 molecules from CO2 reduction. External‐field assisted photocatalysis such as with electric (photoelectro‐) and heat (photothermal) is discussed to uncover the synergistic contributions that drive the development in photochemistry. Last, future challenges and prospects are outlined for the potential application of solar‐driven CO2 conversion, along with the scale‐up strategy from the economic viewpoint toward the rational development of high‐efficiency carbon nitride catalysts.

Keywords

• carbon nitride
• CO2 reduction
• external fields
• interfacial design
• nanostructure
• photocatalysis