Recent advances in solar‐driven CO₂ reduction over g‐C₃N₄‐based photocatalysts

Abstract The persistent increase of CO₂ levels in the atmosphere, already exceeding 400 ppm, urges the exploration of CO₂ emission reduction and recycling technologies. Ideally, photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into valuable hydrocarbons realizes solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion, which is a desirable “kill two birds with one stone” strategy; namely, CO₂ photoreduction can simultaneously tackle energy shortage and keep global carbon balance. Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄) working on CO₂ reduction reaction deserves a highlight not only for the metal‐free feature that endows it with low cost, tunable electronic structure, and easy fabrication properties but also because of its strong reduction ability. The present review concisely summarizes the latest advances of g‐C₃N₄‐based photocatalysts toward CO₂ reduction. It starts with the discussion of thermodynamics and dynamics aspects of the CO₂ reduction process. Then the modification strategies to promote g‐C₃N₄‐based photocatalysts in CO₂ photoreduction have been discussed in detail, including surface functionalization, molecule structure engineering, crystallization, morphology engineering, loading cocatalyst, and constructing heterojunction. Meanwhile, the intrinsic factors affecting CO₂ reduction activity and selectivity are analyzed and summarized. In the end, the challenges and prospects for the future development of highly g‐C₃N₄‐based photocatalysts in CO₂ reduction are also presented.