Review on CeO₂-Based Photocatalysts for Photocatalytic Reduction of CO₂: Progresses and Perspectives

Abstract

A promising approach is to transform carbon dioxide (CO2) into renewable, high value-added products with minimal environmental impact and maximum efficiency. Many problems, including energy shortages and environmental degradation, are caused by high CO2 levels, but this can help. Photocatalytic reduction methods are a promising technology for solving these problems. Cerium dioxide (CeO2) is one of the most important rare earth oxides, and cerium dioxide-based photocatalysts have gained a lot of attention in recent years due to their distinctive features, such as their tunable electronic structures and their excellent photocatalytic performances. However, the wide energy band of cerium oxide limits its utilization of light. This review provides various strategies for the modification of cerium oxide, encompassing external atom doping, heterostructure fabrication, defect fabrication, and crystal plane modulation, to improve the catalytic performance of CeO2. The fundamentals of the conversion of CeO2-based photocatalysts into high value-added products are also summarized. Finally, the challenges and prospects of CeO2-based catalysts for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 are presented.

Toward Practical Li–CO2 Batteries: Mechanisms, Catalysts, and Perspectives

“…In principle, the more stable a bond, the greater the amount of energy that is required to break it. Therefore, direct CO 2 reduction is inevitably accompanied by a large amount of energy input in spite of the adoption of high-efficacy catalysts. − Benefiting from the superior reducibility of Li metal, it can extract oxygen atoms from CO 2 molecules. Meanwhile, the Li-driven CO 2 reduction reaction can proceed spontaneously and release energy.…”

“…Varieties of CCU technologies of thermocatalytic, electrocatalytic, photocatalytic, and photoelectrocatalytic reduction have been developed. − In these processes, CO 2 is transformed into value-added carbonaceous chemicals, and thermal, electrical, or/and solar energy is stored as chemical energy. Due to the dual functions of CO 2 conversion and electrical energy supply, metal–CO 2 batteries that have emerged in the past decade provide an attractive option for achieving the target of carbon neutrality. − Up to now, metal–CO 2 batteries reported mainly include Li–CO 2 , Na–CO 2 , K–CO 2 , Mg–CO 2 , Al–CO 2 , and Zn–CO 2 ones.…”

Enhanced CO2 Photoreduction with Noble Metal‐Modified CeO2‐Synthesis, Mechanisms, and Catalytic Insights: A Minireview

“…Firstly, as a significant rare‐earth metal oxide, CeO 2 offers the typical characteristics of oxides that enhance CO 2 adsorption. It can increase the surface area of the reaction, and it possesses a substantial number of oxygen vacancies (O v ) on its surface, rendering active oxygen species and electron acceptors available [16a,17] . This mechanism facilitates accelerated charge separation, thus significantly improving photocatalytic efficiency.…”

“…During the doping process, the p‐orbitals of the non‐metal elements undergo hybridization with the O 2p orbitals in CeO 2 . This interaction induces a modification of the valence band (VB) density, resulting in an upward shift, which consequently reduces the bandgap energy [4,16a] . Non‐metal doping facilitates an elevation in the photosensitivity of CeO 2 ‐based catalysts, thereby augmenting their responsiveness within the visible light spectrum.…”

Recent Progress and Outlook of Metal–Organic Framework Materials Used for CO2 Electrocatalytic Reduction

“…In addition, the research progress of MOFs in electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 is also reviewed in detail. At the end of this paper, the application prospect of MOFs in this field is proposed. ,− It is hoped that this work can provide an effective reference for the exploration and application of the MOF-based electrocatalytic reduction system in the future and encourage more ambitious people to devote themselves to the research in this field. − …”