Adsorption and Photo‐/Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO ₂ by Porous Nanomaterials: Progress, Mechanism, and Perspective

Large amounts of CO ₂ are released into atmosphere with the fast development of industry and other human activities. The increase of CO ₂ concentration in atmosphere causes greenhouse effect and potential global disaster. Porous nanomaterials have attracted multidisciplinary researches because of their remarkable physicochemical properties such as porous structures, active sites, high stability, and excellent catalytic activities. Herein, the capture and utilization of CO ₂ through a photo‐/electrocatalytic reduction with adsorption strategy using porous nanomaterials as catalysts are summarized. Different reaction mechanisms are discussed from the macrolevel experimental results, spectroscopic analysis, and computational simulations. The porous structures, abundant active sites, doping of metals, good mass transfer, and high stability are most important parameters for capture and photo‐/electrocatalytic reduction of CO ₂ to C ₁ or C ₂ /C ₂₊ products with high selectivity and efficiency. Next, different porous photo‐/electrocatalysts as well as effective modification strategies for CO ₂ reduction are provided in detail. At the end, perspectives and challenges on practical application of porous nanomaterials in CO ₂ photo‐/electrocatalytic reduction are presented for future development of this field. This review is helpful for readers to understand the approaches in material design for a high CO ₂ capture‐reduction rate and reaction process.