Next Article in Journal
Hydrogels and Aerogels for Versatile Photo-/Electro-Chemical and Energy-Related Applications
Previous Article in Journal
Rapid Determination of 12 Classes of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Water Samples from Environmental Forensic Cases
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Molecules
Volume 29
Issue 16
10.3390/molecules29163882
molecules-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles thumb_up
...
Endorse textsms
...
Comment
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Review

Applications of Ni-Based Catalysts in Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction

by
Zhimin Yuan
1,
Xianhui Sun
2,
Haiquan Wang
1,*,
Xingling Zhao
1 and
Zaiyong Jiang
1,*
1
School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Weifang University, Weifang 261061, China
2
Food and Drug Department, Weifang Vocational College, Weifang 261061, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2024, 29(16), 3882; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163882
Submission received: 30 July 2024 / Revised: 13 August 2024 / Accepted: 15 August 2024 / Published: 16 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction and Photocatalytic Degradation of Organics)
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Heterogeneous CO2 hydrogenation catalytic reactions, as the strategies for CO2 emission reduction and green carbon resource recycling, play important roles in alleviating global warming and energy shortages. Among these strategies, photothermal CO2 hydrogenation technology has become one of the hot catalytic technologies by virtue of the synergistic advantages of thermal catalysis and photocatalysis. And it has attracted more and more researchers’ attentions. Various kinds of effective photothermal catalysts have been gradually discovered, and nickel-based catalysts have been widely studied for their advantages of low cost, high catalytic activity, abundant reserves and thermal stability. In this review, the applications of nickel-based catalysts in photothermal CO2 hydrogenation are summarized. Finally, through a good understanding of the above applications, future modification strategies and design directions of nickel-based catalysts for improving their photothermal CO2 hydrogenation activities are proposed.

1. Introduction

With the continuous progress of social productivity and science and technology, economic pillar industries such as chemical production, power systems, automobile manufacturing, etc., have experienced rapid development. This has been accompanied by massive consumption of fossil fuels and excessive emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2 [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. The scientific problem of how to reduce CO2 emissions to the maximum extent has aroused great attention from all countries and governments, and they have put forward many coping strategies. Many countries have signed provisions such as the Kyoto Treaty and the Paris Agreement to control CO2 emissions and slow the pace of global warming [9].
In view of the serious impact of the greenhouse gas CO2 on the global climate and in order to alleviate human dependence on limited fossil energy, scientists have proposed to catalyze CO2 into high-value-added valuable organics to replace limited fossil resources and reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere [10,11,12,13,14,15]. Due to the high symmetry and chemical inertness of CO2 molecules, it is necessary to input a large amount of energy to dissociate the C=O double bond in the converting process of CO2; so, the introduction of catalysis is imperative. In recent years, many CO2 utilization technologies have been explored and discovered, mainly including photocatalysis, thermal catalysis, electrocatalysis, biological conversion, photothermal catalysis and other methods [16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. Photocatalytic CO2 technology converts CO2 into methane, carbon monoxide, methanol and other substances under the action of light and semiconductor catalysts. Thermal catalytic conversion of CO2 converts CO2 into useful chemicals or fuels by using catalysts under high-temperature conditions. Electrocatalysis refers to the conversion and reduction of CO2 into renewable energy under the action of electric energy and electrodes. Biological conversion is the conversion of CO2 into organics and fuels through metabolic methods and other means such as biological methods. Photothermal catalysis of CO2 is a new direction of catalytic conversion driven by solar energy and heat utilized in recent years. Photothermal catalysis includes four types of actions: thermal-assisted photocatalysis (thermal energy improves the separation of photo-generated charge carriers), photo-assisted thermocatalysis (solar energy enhances the local temperature of the catalyst surface), photo-driven thermocatalysis (the catalyst has high light absorption capacity, thereby achieving photo-to-thermal conversion under light irradiation) and photothermal co-catalysis (the catalyst could exhibit contributions to both the thermochemical and photochemical reactions) [23]. Different from thermal catalysis and photocatalysis, it collaboratively drives the catalytic reaction of CO2 by combining thermocatalysis and photocatalysis, which can usually enhance catalytic activity and selectivity compared to thermally driven reactions [24,25]. Among the above-mentioned CO2 conversion technologies, photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation technology is regarded by the majority of scientific researchers as a technology with great application potential, and has received more and more attention [26,27,28,29,30].
Therefore, a large number of CO2 hydrogenation photothermal catalysts have been explored one after another, showing a very good industrial application prospect in terms of activity. Among them, supported catalysts (metal/oxide) are the hot-topic materials in this field, which are mainly composed of active metals (such as Rh [31], Ru [32,33], Pd [34], Pt [35,36], Cu [37,38,39], Ni [40], Co [41,42], Fe [43,44], etc. [45]) and metal oxide supports (for instance TiO2 [46,47,48], SiO2 [49], In2O3 [50],CeO2 [51,52], Al2O3 [53], etc. [54,55,56]). Taking into account the high price of precious metals, insufficient reserves and other problems, their large-scale promotion and industrialization is severely limited. From the perspective of large-scale industrial applications, non-precious metals with abundant reserves, cheap costs and good activity (for example, Cu, Ni, Co, etc.) have received ever-increasing attention [57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66]. And their explorations in the field of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation have gradually deepened in recent years [67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75].
Ni (nickel), despite being one of the hot-topic materials of non-precious metals, to date, there are few review papers reporting on applications of Ni-based catalysts in photothermal CO2 hydrogenation. To facilitate a deeper and more convenient comprehension for a broader audience of researchers in this field, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive application review based on recent advances. This review will sum up the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation applications of Ni-based catalysts in three aspects: photothermal CO2 methanation, photothermal reverse water–gas reaction (RWGS), and photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to produce methanol. Based on the above applications, this review presents the research progress, some current problems and challenges, and some strategies to further enhance the activities Ni-based catalysts, and proposes future research directions.

2. Possible Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction Path

The photothermal CO2 hydrogenation reaction of Ni-based catalysts is a complex multi-step reaction, so its reaction path is complex and uncertain, resulting in the formation of many types of products, such as CO, CH4 and CH3OH. The following is a possible and brief statement about the reaction path according to the different products [76,77,78,79].
Photothermal reverse water–gas shift reaction (CO2 + H2 ⇌ CO + H2O). The level of hydrogen consumption in the photothermal reverse water–gas shift reaction (RWGS) is the least out of all of the CO2 hydrogenation reactions. The CO product is the basic raw material for many important industrial products, so it is considered a highly popular reaction. The RWGS reaction includes two main reaction pathways: (1) the CO path. Carbon dioxide is first adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst to form *CO2 active species. Then, through the direct break of the C-O chemical bond, *CO2 can be directly converted into *CO and *O. Finally, *CO adsorbed on the catalyst surface produces CO via desorption. (2) The carboxyl (*HOCO) intermediate path. In this process, the CO2 adsorbed on the catalyst surface (*CO2) is hydrogenated to form the intermediate species carboxyl group (*HOCO), and then, the *HOCO intermediates are cleaved to form *CO and *OH species at the corresponding active sites. Finally, the *CO intermediates are desorbed from the catalyst surface to form gaseous CO. Regardless of the path, the adsorption capacity of *CO on the catalyst surface has an important effect on the selectivity of CO. A suitable adsorption capacity is conducive to the formation of CO. A strong adsorption capacity is not favorable for the desorption of *CO, which will cause *CO to continue under hydrogenation, thereby changing the selectivity of CO.
Photothermal CO2 methanation (CO2 + 4H2 ⇌ CH4 + 2H2O). CO2 methanation is one of the important reactions to produce methane, which has important practical significance in industrial production. It has been reported that there are two main reaction paths for photothermal CO2 methanation. The direct cleavage path of the C-O bond. CO2 is adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst to form *CO2 active species, which are directly converted into *CO and *O. The formed *CO continues to dissociate to *C and *O, and subsequently, *C can undergo hydrogenation to produce *CH, *CH2, *CH3 and *CH4. *CH4 is desorbed from the surface of the catalyst to form CH4. Alternatively, there is the formate pathway. *CO2 is hydrogenated to produce HxCO active species, and then, the C-O chemical bonds in HxCO are broken to form *CHx. *CHx can continue to undergo a series of hydrogenation processes to form *CH4, which is subsequently desorbed from the catalyst surface to form CH4.
Photothermal methanol production (CO2 + 3H2 ⇌ CH3OH + H2O). As we all know, methanol is an important chemical raw material and hydrogen storage material, which makes the research on photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production the object of much attention. According to research reports, there are two main reaction paths for photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production at present. (1) The *CO intermediate path. *CO2 first undergoes the RWGS reaction to produce *CO, which can be continuously hydrogenated to produce CH3OH. (2) The formate pathway (*HCOO). *CO2 is hydrogenated to produce *H2COOH, which can be converted to CH3OH by breaking the C-O chemical bond and undergoing hydrogenation. It seems that the description is very simple, but in fact, the whole reaction process is complex and may also involve the conversion of many other intermediates.

3. Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Applications of Ni-Based Catalysts

3.1. Photothermal Reverse Water–Gas Reaction

The photothermal reverse water–gas reaction is a promising candidate for efficient utilization of CO2 and hydrogen energy. However, the conversion rate of carbon dioxide is limited by the thermodynamic equilibrium. It is a hot topic to explore photothermal catalysts with high activity, high CO selectivity and high CO2 conversion. In the early stage, Pt, Pd and some precious metals were found to have good catalytic activities in the RWGS reaction [36]. In recent years, considering the price and reserves of precious metals, the exploration of non-precious metal catalysts has become more and more extensive [80]. Among them, Ni-based catalysts have attracted great interest because of their abundant reserves, low price and good catalytic activity [81].
However, after more than ten years of exploration, it has been found that the CO selectivity of Ni-based catalysts is not high when performing RWGS, and there is always a large number of CH4 by-products which interfere. A lot of effort has been put into exploring the high selectivity of CO. For example, Song et al. discovered that single atoms of Ni can cause Pauli incompatibility through theoretical calculations, thereby preventing the formation of CO by-products in the process of RWGS [82]. Based on their calculations, in this study, nickel was loaded onto the surface of CeO2 nanosheets to explore the catalytic activity and selectivity of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation. By XRD characterization (Figure 1a), no diffraction peaks of Ni were found, indicating that Ni particles are very small. It was determined by TEM (Figure 1b) that Ni particles belong to the atomic level. Atomically, Ni/CeO2 underwent the photothermal RWGS reaction, and the results are shown in Figure 1c,d. It is evident that atomically, Ni/CeO2 exhibits 100% CO selectivity and has a good catalytic rate (23.1 mmol·g−1·h−1). By analyzing the XPS spectra of the samples before and after the RWGS reaction, it is found that the valence state of Ni is stable at the oxidation state +2 valence. It can be seen that the Ni active species on the catalyst surface have an important effect on the CO selectivity of the RWGS reaction.
In addition, the support of Ni-based catalysts also has an important effect on the RWGS reaction. For example, researchers have explored significant differences between CeO2 and N-doped CeO2 [83]. Based on the XRD image (Figure 2a), it can be found that the diffraction peak of Ni/CeO2 is shifted to a lower angle after nitrogen doping, which confirms the successful doping of N. The photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation activity diagrams (Figure 2b) show that the CO selectivity of Ni/CeO2 is only 30%, while the CO selectivity of Ni/Nx-CeO2 is almost 100%. And the CO yields of the Ni/Nx-CeO2 samples are improved compared to those of Ni/CeO2. In addition, the cyclic reaction exhibited that the catalytic activity has no decrease (Figure 2c), suggesting that the Ni/Nx-CeO2 composite possesses excellent stability. Through XPS (Figure 2d) and in situ FT-IR characterization, the researchers found that N-H chemical bonds appear on the surface of Ni/Nx-CeO2 after the photothermal RWGS reaction, which reduces the number of active *H species. It was found by theoretical calculation that the ability of Ni/Nx-CeO2 to break down hydrogen is weaker than that of Ni/CeO2. These results indicate that changes in selectivity are significantly associated with the formation of N-H chemical bonds. The Gibbs free energy calculation results show that *CO is more easily desorbed from the surface of Ni/Nx-CeO2 than Ni/CeO2, thereby being more conducive to CO generation. Moreover, the alloying strategy is also an effective method to increase CO selectivity in the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation reaction of Ni-based catalysts. The researchers found that a Ni-Mo alloy can regulate the selectivity of CO in photothermal CO2 hydrogenation, and even Ni1Mo1 can obtain 98% CO selectivity [77]. The studies show that Mo can regulate the electronic structure of Ni, weaken the ability of Ni to decompose hydrogen and increase the desorption of *CO from the surface of the catalyst, which is the main cause of the formation of CO.

3.2. Photothermal CO2 Methanation

In 1897, Paul Sabatier experimentally confirmed the CO2 methanation reaction. After more than 120 years of exploration and research, CO2 methanation (that is, the Sabatier reaction) technology has been better expanded and developed. CH4 (methane) is a key component of natural gas, which is a high-quality energy source and has great potential to replace coal as a clean fuel. In addition, it can also be used as a chemical raw material for the production of acetylene, carbon black, methane chloride and other chemical products. Therefore, it has gradually become a strategic resource and aroused widespread interest globally among researchers. Currently, thermal catalytic CO2 methanation has been used commercially on a large scale [84]. However, due to the high stability of CO2 molecules, high temperature and high pressure are needed to achieve efficient conversion, which leads to high energy consumption, environmental problems and harsh reaction conditions. It is of great significance to use renewable and clean energy to promote CO2 methanation under milder and more environmentally friendly conditions. Solar energy is a non-polluting, sustainable renewable energy source, and has been regarded as a viable auxiliary thermal catalytic CO2 methane energy source. Therefore, photothermal catalytic CO2 methanation technology has become one of the hot technologies because of its advantages such as mild reaction conditions, low energy consumption, green environmental protection capacity and good performance [84]. A large number of CO2 methanation photothermal catalysts have been explored, showing a very good prospect of industrial application in terms of activity. In particular, Ni-based catalysts have been considered promising materials and have been extensively explored [85,86].
For instance, Li et al. obtained TiO2 with a large specific surface area by converting MIL-125 (Ti-MOFs) and then loaded Ni particles with a smaller size and better dispersion on its surface, compared to using P25 (Figure 3a,b) [87]. Through the photothermal CO2 methanation reaction (Figure 3c,d), it can be seen that the catalytic activity of pure TiO2 is very low, and the introduction of nickel can greatly improve its catalytic activity. In addition, Ni/TiO2 exhibits a higher CO2 conversion rate than Ni/P25, and its methane selectivity is close to 99%. A series of characterization tests confirmed that a large specific surface area is conducive to the adsorption and activation of carbon dioxide, and highly dispersed nickel particles can provide more surface-active sites for CO2 methanation. Ni/TiO2 has stronger interfacial interactions than Ni/P25, thereby increasing the density of Ni electronic states on the surface of Ni/TiO2, which is conducive to improving the ability of Ni to decompose H2 and CO2. It can be seen from this work that the size, dispersion and surface electron state density of nickel particles play important roles in the photothermal CO2 methanation reaction.
In addition, metal support interactions (MSIs) play an important role in regulating the photothermal CO2 methanation of Ni-based catalysts. For example, Li et al. used titanium dioxide supports of different sizes to effectively regulate the SMI between Ni and TiO2 [78]. It is found that the smaller size of TiO2 exhibits a stronger SMI. The main reason is that the smaller size of TiO2 has more sufficient oxygen vacancies on the surface, so the Ni atoms can be further effectively anchored, increasing the compatibility between the two. With the enhancement of SMI, photo-generated electrons by TiO2 excitation can easily migrate to the surface of Ni particles. The high electron density of Ni can promote the dissociation capacity of H2 molecules and the adsorption capacity of *CO intermediates, so that CO can undergo a deep hydrogenation reaction, resulting in the high selectivity of CH4. On the contrary, the SMI of large-sized TiO2 particles is weak, the adsorption capacity of the catalysts for *CO intermediates is insufficient, and it is easy for them to desorb and directly generate CO, resulting in the reduction in CH4 selectivity. As shown in Figure 4a,b, it can be clearly found that Ni/TiO2-25 (support size is about 25 nm) shows a higher CH4 selectivity than Ni/TiO2-100 (support size is about 100 nm). The reaction path is that TiO2 photoelectrons migrate to Ni particles to form Ni− under ultraviolet–visible light irradiation; the left holes in TiO2 can assist H2 molecules to transform into H+ ions. Then, H+ combines with Ni− to form Ni-H active species, which react with *CO2 to form many intermediates such as HCO*, H2CO*, H3CO* and so on. Finally, the C-O bonds of the above intermediates are broken to form CH4.
Moreover, the CO2 adsorption and activation of Ni-based catalysts are also important factors limiting the rate and selectivity of CO2 methanation. When the CO2 adsorption capacity of the catalyst is poor, CO2 will not be fully adsorbed on the active site, and the activation capacity of CO2 will be low, which will lead to an insufficient reaction concentration and a high CO2 conversion energy barrier, and may even cause changes in the type of intermediates and reaction path, thus limiting the reaction rate and selectivity. The developed “Frustrated Lewis Pairs” (FLPs) chemistry in recent years provides a useful approach and method for enhancing the design of CO2 chemisorption and activation capacities of catalysts. FLPs are generally composed of a pair of Lewis acid sites and Lewis base sites within or between molecules, but due to the obstruction of spatial coordination, these two active sites cannot form traditional Lewis acid–base admixtures, so they show some special chemical properties and catalytic activities. This theory gives us a new revelation: using this FLP chemical method constructs an active interface on the surface of the support, so as to significantly improve the CO2 adsorption and activation ability of the catalyst, which is a new strategy different from previous design ideas (the many existing methods are physical actions such as concepts of regulating the specific surface area and pore size, bonding activated carbon with a high CO2 adsorption capacity, adjusting the crystal plane, etc.). This method is promising to further improve the catalytic activity of CO2 methanation of nickel-based catalysts. Based on the above ideas, Jiang et al. constructed HOB···B FLPs on the surface of BN [79], and found that Ni/BN showed 87.68% CO2 methanation conversion, the reaction rate reached 2.03 mol gNi−1 h−1, and the selectivity of CH4 was almost 100% (Figure 4c,d). The results show that FLPs can cooperate with Ni to capture and activate CO2 and H2, so as to perfectly convert CO2 into CH4.

3.3. Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation for Methanol Production

Methanol is one of the most important basic raw materials in the chemical industry, which is mainly used for the production of formaldehyde, dimethyl ether, acetic acid olefin (ethylene, propylene), aromatic (benzene, toluene, xylene), gasoline and other organic chemical products or fuels. It could partially alleviate the dependence on petroleum resources. Photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production can recycle carbon resources, thereby gradually eliminating the dependence on the decreasing fossil energy sources, which is of great significance to the sustainable development of human society. Ni-based catalysts are also a series of key materials for photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production. For example, Zhang et al. explored the application of Ni-In2O3 in photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production [88]. Firstly, Ni was doped into the crystal lattice of In2O3 using the co-precipitation method, and then, a highly dispersed distribution of Ni0 on the surface of In2O3 via reduction pretreatment was achieved. The introduction of Ni increased the oxygen vacancy concentration of In2O3 and expanded its light absorption capacity (Figure 5a). The increase in oxygen vacancy is conducive to the adsorption capacity of CO2 (Figure 5b), and the enhancement of its light absorption capacity can provide more energy and charge carriers for the reaction. Ni is in favor of H2 dissociation and can provide more H* active species for the reaction. Therefore, in the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation reaction, 10%Ni-In2O3 shows a higher CO2 conversion rate (Figure 5c) and a significantly increased methanol generation rate (Figure 5d) compared to pure In2O3. It can be seen from the above results that Ni can boost the methanol production rate of the catalyst with the reaction of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production.

4. In Situ FT-IR Spectra Characterization

In the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation reaction, a large number of Ni-based catalysts have been explored, but it is a great challenge to design them with the desired activity and selectivity due to the lack of understanding of the internal reaction process and the detailed mechanism of CO2 hydrogenation. In order to further explore the mystery of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation of Ni-based catalysts, in situ Fourier Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were used to detect the transient kinetic process of this reaction. Recently, Zhang et al. monitored the reaction process of NiMo alloys by using in situ FT-IR spectra while performing their photothermal CO2 hydrogenation test [77]. As shown in Figure 6, CO2 molecules adsorbed on the surface of NiMo alloys can be found to exist in the form of bicarbonate (HCO3−) species and monodentate carbonate (m-CO32−). Their corresponding peaks are located at 1540 and 1650, and 1519, 1470 and 1704 cm−1. In addition, the peaks at 2110 cm−1 could be attributed to the *CO species, and the signals of *CHx have not been detected throughout the supervision process. The in situ FT-IR spectra indicate that the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation process of NiMo alloys takes the *CO path, and the experimental results confirm the high CO selectivity mechanism. It can be seen from this study that in situ FT-IR spectra technology plays an important role in the in-depth study of the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation process of Ni-based catalysts, and it has become a necessary characterization method in this research field.

5. Future Perspectives and Summary

With the continuous progress of social productivity and science and technology, the energy crisis and environmental pollution has aroused great attention from all countries and governments, and they have put forward many coping strategies. Photothermal CO2 hydrogenation technology is considered a very good and promising solution to solve the above-mentioned environmental challenges. The key of the above application is suitable catalysts. Among all kinds of catalysts, Ni-based catalysts have become a series of hot-topic materials due to their advantages of low price, high catalytic activity, good stability and sufficient reserves. Their explorations in the field of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation have gradually deepened in recent years. Much research work has been conducted to further improve their photothermal catalytic efficiency and product selectivity for meeting practical application requirements. In this review, we summarized the relatively comprehensive photothermal CO2 hydrogenation applications of Ni-based catalysts, including photothermal CO2 methanation, the photothermal reverse water–gas reaction (RWGS), and photothermal CO2 hydrogenation for methanol production. Based on the above applications, this review presents the current research progress and the common reaction path. Many strategies have further enhanced the activities and product selectivity of Ni-based catalysts, but some current problems and challenges need be further studied or optimized, thereby directing future research.
(1)
Currently, the main products of photothermal CO2 hydrogenation of Ni-based catalysts are CO, CH4 and CH3OH. With the deepening of research, it could be found that C2+ hydrocarbons are more valuable, but the current research progress and technical capabilities are not able to achieve this goal. In the explorations of some other classes of catalysts, related studies are gradually emerging. It can be observed that the main reaction process of C2+ hydrocarbon product production is the *CO-*CH2 pathway. *CO2 adsorbed on the catalyst surface forms *CO, which produces *CH2 by dissociation and hydrogenation of the C-O chemical bond. Then, *CH2 achieves C-C coupling under the action of a metal catalyst to obtain the generation of C2+ hydrocarbon products. Based on the above reaction path principle, Ni-based catalysts can be designed and explored to achieve the production of C2+ high-value-added hydrocarbons.
(2)
Recently reported in the journal Science, when the catalyst in the CO2 hydrogenation reaction has 100% selectivity for CO and does not waste hydrogen to produce by-product methane, the RWGS reaction can better achieve the overall carbon negative benefit and simplify the downstream separation process. Therefore, the CO selectivity of Ni-based catalysts in the photothermal RWGS reaction needs to be improved. It is necessary to further modify the Ni-based catalyst or regulate the reaction system. In addition, some design ideas of organic catalysts can also be used for reference, which could do with some experimentation [89,90].
(3)
The hydrogen spillover effect plays an important role in the photothermal CO2 hydrogenation reaction, but the current research mainly focuses on improving the catalytic activity by regulating the adsorption and activation capacities of CO2 and H2, and has neglected the hydrogen spillover effect. Therefore, in future studies, the mechanism of the hydrogen spillover effect should be explored in detail and applied for the improvement in the activity or selectivity of products.
(4)
Due to the strong exothermic reaction and the eight-electron reduction process required for CO2 methanation, achieving its thermodynamic and kinetic reaction is a great challenge. The temperature is too low, the CO2 methanation reaction speed is slow, the high temperature will change the reaction balance and the CO2 conversion rate is low, which do not meet the needs of actual production. At present, few Ni-based catalysts can simultaneously meet the four high production needs of high rate, high conversion, high selectivity and high stability. Therefore, exploring and researching suitable low-temperature catalysts to reduce the energy barrier of CO2 conversion, accelerate the methane generation rate at a lower or more appropriate temperature, and ensure high CO2 conversion, high selectivity, high stability and low cost has become a key issue in this field.

Author Contributions

Z.Y.: design, writing and editing original draft. X.S.: writing—review. H.W.: writing—review and editing. X.Z.: writing—review. Z.J.: writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M670483), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, China (ZR2021QB129, ZR2023MB049), and the Doctoral Research Foundation of Weifang University (2022BS11, 2022BS09).

Data Availability Statement

The data will be made available on request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests.

References

  1. Zhang, K.; Xu, C.P.; Zhang, X.J.; Huang, Z.Y.; Pian, Q.X.; Che, K.H.; Cui, X.K.; Hu, Y.R.; Xuan, Y.M. Structural Heredity in Catalysis: CO2 Self-Selective CeO2 Nanocrystals for Efficient Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation to Methane. Small 2023, 20, 2308823. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  2. Peng, Y.; Szalad, H.; Nikacevic, P.; Gorni, G.; Goberna, S.; Simonelli, L.; Albero, J.; López, N.; García, H. Co-doped hydroxyapatite as photothermal catalyst for selective CO2 hydrogenation. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2023, 333, 122790. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  3. Elavarasan, M.; Yang, W.; Velmurugan, S.; Chen, J.N.; Chang, Y.T.; Yang, T.C.K.; Yokoi, T. In-situ infrared investigation of m-TiO2/α-Fe2O3 photocatalysts and tracing of intermediates in photocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol. J. CO2 Util. 2022, 56, 101864. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Mateo, D.; Albero, J.; Garcia, H. Titanium-perovskite-supported RuO2 nanoparticles for photocatalytic CO2 methanation. Joule 2019, 3, 1949–1962. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. Yan, T.; Li, N.; Wang, L.; Ran, W.; Duchesne, P.N.; Wan, L.; Nguyen, T.N.; Wang, L.; Xia, M.; Ozin, G.A. Bismuth atom tailoring of indium oxide surface frustrated Lewis pairs boosts heterogeneous CO2 photocatalytic hydrogenation. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 6095. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  6. Song, H.; Ye, J. Photothermal tandem catalysis for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. Chem 2022, 8, 1181–1183. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  7. Li, Z.; Liu, J.; Shi, R.; Waterhouse, G.I.N.; Wen, X.D.; Zhang, T. Fe-Based Catalysts for the Direct Photohydrogenation of CO2 to Value-Added Hydrocarbons. Adv. Energy Mater. 2021, 11, 2002783. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Deng, B.; Song, H.; Peng, K.; Li, Q.; Ye, J. Metal-organic framework-derived Ga-Cu/CeO2 catalyst for highly efficient photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2021, 298, 120519. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  9. Chu, S.; Majumdar, A. Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable energy future. Nature 2012, 488, 294–303. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  10. Ma, J.; Yu, J.; Chen, G.; Bai, Y.; Liu, S.; Hu, Y.; Al-Mamun, M.; Wang, Y.; Gong, W.; Liu, D.; et al. Rational design of N-doped carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticles for highly efficient and durable photothermal CO2 conversion. Adv. Mater. 2023, 35, 2302537. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  11. Gu, Y.; Ding, J.; Tong, X.; Yao, H.; Yang, R.; Zhong, Q. Photothermal catalyzed hydrogenation of carbon dioxide over porous nanosheet Co3O4. J. CO2 Util. 2022, 61, 102003. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  12. Jin, B.; Ye, X.; Zhong, H.; Jin, F.; Hu, Y.H. Enhanced photocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation with wide-spectrum utilization over black TiO2 supported catalyst. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2022, 33, 812–816. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  13. Qi, Y.; Jiang, J.; Liang, X.; Ouyang, S.; Mi, W.; Ning, S.; Zhao, L.; Ye, J. Fabrication of black In2O3 with dense oxygen vacancy through dual functional carbon doping for enhancing photothermal CO2 hydrogenation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2021, 31, 2100908. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  14. Fang, Y.L.; Zhu, G.H.; Jiang, J.Z.; Yang, L.; Deng, F.X.; Arramel; Li, X. A review of updated S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts. J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 2024, 177, 142–180. [Google Scholar]
  15. Wang, L.; Dong, Y.; Yan, T.; Hu, Z.; Ali, F.M.; Meira, D.M.; Duchesne, P.N.; Loh, J.Y.Y.; Qiu, C.; Storey, E.E.; et al. Black indium oxide a photothermal CO2 hydrogenation catalyst. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 2432. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  16. Ding, X.; Liu, W.X.; Zhao, J.H.; Wang, L.; Zou, Z.G. Photothermal CO2 Catalysis toward the Synthesis of Solar Fuel: From Material and Reactor Engineering to Techno-Economic Analysis. Adv. Mater. 2024, 23, 12093. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  17. Belinchón, A.; Hernández, E.; Navarro, P.; Palomar, J. A step closer to sustainable CO2 conversion: Limonene carbonate production driven by ionic liquids. J. Clean. Prod. 2024, 460, 142587. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  18. Jiang, Z.Y.; Zhang, X.H.; Sun, W.; Yang, D.R.; Duchesne, P.N.; Gao, Y.G.; Wang, Z.Y.; Yan, T.J.; Yuan, Z.M.; Yang, G.H.; et al. Building a Bridge from Papermaking to Solar Fuels. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 14850–14854. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  19. Yuan, Z.M.; Zhu, X.L.; Gao, X.Q.; An, C.H.; Wang, Z.; Zuo, C.; Dionysiou, D.D.; He, H.; Jiang, Z.Y. Enhancing photocatalytic CO2 reduction with TiO2-based materials: Strategies, mechanisms, challenges, and perspectives. Environ. Sci. Ecotechnol. 2024, 20, 100368. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  20. Price, C.A.H.; Reina, T.R.; Liu, J. Engineering heterogenous catalysts for chemical CO2 utilization: Lessons from thermal catalysis and advantages of yolk@shell structured nanoreactors. J. Energy Chem. 2021, 57, 304–324. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  21. Gao, J.J.; Shiong, S.C.S.; Liu, Y. Reduction of CO2 to chemicals and Fuels: Thermocatalysis versus electrocatalysis. Chem. Eng. J. 2023, 472, 145033. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  22. Rao, Y.; Chibwe, K.; Mantilla-Calderon, D.; Ling, F.Q.; He, Z. Meta-analysis of biogas upgrading to renewable natural gas through biological CO2 conversion. J. Clean. Prod. 2023, 426, 139128. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  23. Gao, W.; Li, Y.W.; Xiao, D.Q.; Ma, D. Advances in photothermal conversion of carbon dioxide to solar fuels. J. Energy Chem. 2023, 83, 62–78. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  24. Wang, Z.J.; Song, H.; Liu, H.; Ye, J. Coupling of solar energy and thermal energy for carbon dioxide reduction: Status and prospects. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 8016–8035. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  25. Meng, X.; Wang, T.; Liu, L.; Ouyang, S.; Li, P.; Hu, H.; Kako, T.; Iwai, H.; Tanaka, A.; Ye, J. Photothermal conversion of CO2 into CH4 with H2 over Group VIII nanocatalysts: An alternative approach for solar fuel production. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 11478–11482. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  26. Li, N.X.; Liu, M.; Yang, B.; Shu, W.X.; Shen, Q.H.; Liu, M.C.; Zhou, J.C. Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance toward CO2 Hydrogenation over Nanosized TiO2-Loaded Pd under UV Irradiation. J. Phys. Chem. C 2017, 121, 2923–2932. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  27. Wu, D.D.; Deng, K.X.; Hu, B.; Lu, Q.Y.; Liu, G.L.; Hong, X.L. Plasmon-Assisted Photothermal Catalysis of Low-Pressure CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Pd/ZnO Catalyst. ChemCatChem 2019, 11, 1598–1601. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  28. Song, C.Q.; Wang, Z.H.; Zhao, J.W.; Qin, X.T.; Peng, M.; Gao, Z.R.; Xu, M.; Xu, Y.; Yan, J.; Bi, Y.P.; et al. Photothermal conversion of CO2 into lower olefins at the interface of the K-promoted Ru/Fe3O4 catalyst. Chem Catal. 2024, 4, 100960. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  29. Deng, B.W.; Song, H.; Wang, Q.; Hong, J.N.; Song, S.; Zhang, Y.W.; Peng, K.; Zhang, H.W.; Kako, T.; Ye, J.H. Highly efficient and stable photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over Ru/In2O3 under atmospheric pressure. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2023, 327, 122471. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  30. Dong, T.J.; Liu, X.Y.; Tang, Z.F.; Yuan, H.F.; Jiang, D.; Wang, Y.J.; Liu, Z.; Zhang, X.L.; Huang, S.F.; Liu, H.; et al. Ru decorated TiOx nanoparticles via laser bombardment for photothermal co-catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to methane with high selectivity. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2023, 326, 122176. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  31. Li, J.L.; Sheng, B.W.; Qiu, L.; Yang, J.J.; Wang, P.; Li, Y.X.; Yu, T.Q.; Pan, H.; Li, Y.; Li, M.H.; et al. Photo-thermal synergistic CO2 hydrogenation towards CO over PtRh bimetal-decorated GaN nanowires/Si. Chem. Sci. 2024, 15, 7714–7724. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  32. Zhai, J.; Xia, Z.; Zhou, B.; Wu, H.; Xue, T.; Chen, X.; Jiao, J.; Jia, S.; He, M.; Han, B. Photo-thermal coupling to enhance CO2 hydrogenation toward CH4 over Ru/MnO/Mn3O4. Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 1109. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  33. Guo, C.; Tang, Y.; Yang, Z.; Zhao, T.; Liu, J.; Zhao, Y.; Wang, F. Reinforcing the efficiency of photothermal catalytic CO2 methanation through integration of Ru nanoparticles with photothermal MnCo2O4 nanosheets. ACS Nano 2023, 17, 23761–23771. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  34. Jia, J.; O’Brien, P.G.; He, L.; Qiao, Q.; Fei, T.; Reyes, L.M.; Burrow, T.E.; Dong, Y.; Liao, K.; Varela, M.; et al. Visible and near-infrared photothermal catalyzed hydrogenation of gaseous CO2 over nanostructured Pd@Nb2O5. Adv. Sci. 2016, 3, 1600189. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  35. Wang, Y.; Zhang, X.; Chang, K.; Zhao, Z.; Huang, J.; Kuang, Q. MOF Encapsulated AuPt Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Improved Plasmonic-induced Photothermal Catalysis of CO2 Hydrogenation. Chem. Eur. J. 2022, 28, e202104514. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  36. Ge, H.; Kuwahara, Y.; Kusu, K.; Kobayashi, H.; Yamashita, H. Enhanced visible-NIR absorption and oxygen vacancy generation of Pt/HxMoWOy by H-spillover to facilitate photothermal catalytic CO2 hydrogenation. J. Mater. Chem. A 2022, 10, 10854–10864. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Gao, X.; Cao, L.; Chang, Y.; Yuan, Z.; Zhang, S.; Liu, S.; Zhang, M.; Fan, H.; Jiang, Z. Improving the CO2 hydrogenation activity of photocatalysts via the synergy between surface frustrated Lewis pairs and the CuPt alloy. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2023, 11, 5597–5607. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  38. He, Z.H.; Li, Z.H.; Wang, Z.Y.; Wang, K.; Sun, Y.C.; Wang, S.W.; Wang, W.T.; Yang, Y.; Liu, Z.T. Photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons over trimetallic Co-Cu-Mn catalysts. Green Chem. 2021, 23, 5775–5785. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  39. Murthy, P.S.; Liang, W.B.; Jiang, Y.J.; Huang, J. Cu-Based Nanocatalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol. Energy Fuels 2021, 35, 8558–8584. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  40. Kho, E.T.; Tan, T.H.; Lovell, E.; Wong, R.J.; Scott, J.; Amal, R. A review on photo-thermal catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide. Green Energy Environ. 2017, 2, 204–217. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  41. Lou, D.; Xu, A.B.; Fang, Y.; Cai, M.; Lv, K.; Zhang, D.; Wang, X.; Huang, Y.; Li, C.; He, L. Cobalt-Sputtered Anodic Aluminum Oxide Membrane for Efficient Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation. ChemNanoMat 2021, 7, 1008–1012. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  42. Tang, Y.; Zhao, T.; Han, H.; Yang, Z.; Liu, J.; Wen, X.; Wang, F. Ir-CoO Active Centers Supported on Porous Al2O3 Nanosheets as Efficient and Durable Photo-Thermal Catalysts for CO2 Conversion. Adv. Sci. 2023, 10, 2300122. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  43. Chen, G.; Gao, R.; Zhao, Y.; Li, Z.; Waterhouse, G.I.; Shi, R.; Zhao, J.; Zhang, M.; Shang, L.; Sheng, G.; et al. Alumina-supported CoFe alloy catalysts derived from layered-double-hydroxide nanosheets for efficient photothermal CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons. Adv. Mater. 2018, 30, 1704663. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  44. Song, C.Q.; Liu, X.; Xu, M.; Masi, D.; Wang, Y.G.; Deng, Y.C.; Zhang, M.T.; Qin, X.T.; Feng, K.; Yan, J.; et al. Photothermal Conversion of CO2 with Tunable Selectivity Using Fe-Based Catalysts: From Oxide to Carbide. ACS Catal. 2020, 10, 10364–10374. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  45. Xiong, Y.; Chen, H.W.; Hu, Y.; Yang, S.Y.; Xue, X.L.; He, L.F.; Liu, X.; Ma, J.; Jin, Z. Photodriven Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 to CH4 with Nearly 100% Selectivity over Ag25 Clusters. Nano Lett. 2021, 21, 8693–8700. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  46. Jiang, Z.; Yuan, Z.; Duchesne, P.N.; Sun, W.; Lyu, X.; Miao, W.; Viasus Pérez, C.J.; Xu, Y.; Yang, D.; Huang, B.; et al. A living photocatalyst derived from CaCu3Ti4O12 for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol at atmospheric pressure. Chem. Catal. 2023, 3, 100507. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  47. Xu, C.Y.; Huang, W.H.; Li, Z.; Deng, B.W.; Zhang, Y.W.; Ni, M.J.; Cen, K.F. Photothermal Coupling Factor Achieving CO2 Reduction Based on Palladium-Nanoparticle-Loaded TiO2. ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 6582–6593. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  48. Li, N.X.; Zou, X.Y.; Liu, M.; Wei, L.F.; Shen, Q.H.; Bibi, R.; Xu, C.J.; Ma, Q.H.; Zhou, J.C. Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 into Methane over a Pd/Ce-TiO2 Nanocomposition. J. Phys. Chem. C 2017, 121, 25795–25804. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  49. Fan, W.K.; Tahir, M. Current Trends and Approaches to Boost the Performance of Metal Organic Frameworks for Carbon Dioxide Methanation through Photo/Thermal Hydrogenation: A Review. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2021, 60, 13149–13179. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  50. Zhou, J.; Liua, H.; Wang, H.Q. Photothermal catalysis for CO2 conversion. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2023, 34, 107420. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  51. Lu, B.W.; Quan, F.J.; Sun, Z.; Jia, F.L.; Zhang, L.Z. Photothermal reverse-water-gas-shift over Au/CeO2 with high yield and selectivity in CO2 conversion. Catal. Commun. 2019, 129, 105724. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  52. Jiang, R.; Yue, X.; Wang, K.; Yang, Z.; Dai, W.; Fu, X. Photothermal-Catalyzing CO2 Methanation over Different-Shaped CeO2-Based Ru Nanoparticles. Energy Fuels 2022, 36, 11636–11646. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  53. Zhao, Z.Y.; Doronkin, D.E.; Ye, Y.H.; Grunwaldt, J.D.; Huang, Z.A.; Zhou, Y. Visible light-enhanced photothermal CO2 hydrogenation over Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. Chin. J. Catal. 2020, 41, 286–293. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  54. Liu, H.M.; Shi, L.Z.; Zhang, Q.J.; Qi, P.; Zhao, Y.H.; Meng, Q.R.; Feng, X.Q.; Wang, H.; Ye, J.H. Photothermal catalysts for hydrogenation reactions. Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 1279–1294. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  55. Li, Z.H.; Shi, R.; Ma, Y.N.; Zhao, J.Q.; Zhang, T.R. Photodriven CO2 Hydrogenation into Diverse Products: Recent Progress and Perspective. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 5291–5303. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  56. He, X.; Liu, M.; Liang, Z.; Wang, Z.; Wang, P.; Liu, Y.; Cheng, H.; Dai, Y.; Zheng, Z.; Huang, B. Photo-enhanced CO2 hydrogenation by plasmonic Cu/ZnO at atmospheric pressure. J. Solid State Chem. 2021, 298, 122113. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  57. He, J.H.; Lyu, P.; Jiang, B.; Chang, S.S.; Du, H.R.; Zhu, J.; Li, H.X. A novel amorphous alloy photocatalyst (NiB/In2O3) composite for sunlight-induced CO2 hydrogenation to HCOOH. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2021, 298, 120603. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  58. Lorber, K.; Djinovic, P. Accelerating photo-thermal CO2 reduction to CO, CH4 or methanol over metal/oxide semiconductor catalysts. iScience 2022, 25, 104107. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  59. Lou, D.Y.; Zhu, Z.J.; Xu, Y.F.; Li, C.R.; Feng, K.; Zhang, D.K.; Lv, K.X.; Wu, Z.Y.; Zhang, C.C.; Ozin, G.A.; et al. A core-shell catalyst design boosts the performance of photothermal reverse water gas shift catalysis. Sci. China Mater. 2021, 64, 2212–2220. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  60. Mateo, D.; Morlanes, N.; Maity, P.; Shterk, G.; Mohammed, O.F.; Gascon, J. Efficient Visible-Light Driven Photothermal Conversion of CO2 to Methane by Nickel Nanoparticles Supported on Barium Titanate. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2021, 31, 2008244. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  61. Ding, X.; Liu, X.; Cheng, J.H.; Li, D.; Li, T.F.; Jiang, Z.; Guo, Y. Boosted photothermal synergistic CO2 methanation over Ru doped Ni/ZrO2 catalyst: From experimental to DFT studies. Fuel 2024, 357, 129779. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  62. Wang, Z.M.; Xiao, M.Q.; Wang, X.X.; Wang, H.; Chen, X.; Dai, W.X.; Yu, Y.; Fu, X.Z. Thermo-driven photocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation over NiOx/Nb2O5 via regulating the electron transfer behavior of reactant gas adsorption. App. Surf. Sci. 2022, 592, 153246. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  63. Zhu, Z.J.; Hu, X.; An, X.D.; Xiao, M.D.; Zhang, L.; Li, C.R.; He, L. Photothermal Catalytic CO2 Hydrogenation with High Activity and Tailored Selectivity Over Monodispersed Pd-Ni Nanoalloys. Chem. Asian J. 2022, 17, e202200993. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  64. Steeves, T.M.; Esser-Kahn, A.P. Demonstration of the photothermal catalysis of the Sabatier reaction using nickel nanoparticles and solar spectrum light. RSC Adv. 2021, 11, 8394. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  65. Li, Q.; Gao, Y.X.; Zhang, M.; Gao, H.; Chen, J.; Jia, H.P. Efficient infrared-light-driven photothermal CO2 reduction over MOF-derived defective Ni/TiO2. Appl. Catal. B Environ. 2022, 303, 120905. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  66. Li, J.R.; Xu, Q.; Han, Y.Y.; Guo, Z.Y.; Zhao, L.Q.; Cheng, K.; Zhang, Q.H.; Wang, Y. Efficient photothermal CO2 methanation over NiFe alloy nanoparticles with enhanced localized surface plasmon resonance effect. Sci. China Chem. 2023, 66, 3518–3524. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  67. Kho, E.T.; Jantarang, S.; Zheng, Z.K.; Scott, J.; Amal, R. Harnessing the Beneficial Attributes of Ceria and Titania in a Mixed-Oxide Support for Nickel-Catalyzed Photothermal CO2 Methanation. Engineering 2017, 3, 393–401. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  68. Li, Y.; Zeng, Z.J.; Zhang, Y.M.; Chen, Y.; Wang, W.J.; Xu, X.M.; Du, M.Y.; Li, Z.S.; Zou, Z.G. Deactivation and Stabilization Mechanism of Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation over Black TiO2. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2022, 10, 6382–6388. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  69. Lv, C.C.; Bai, X.H.; Ning, S.B.; Song, C.X.; Guan, Q.Q.; Liu, B.; Li, Y.G.; Ye, J.H. Nanostructured Materials for Photothermal Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation: Regulating Solar Utilization and Catalytic Performance. ACS Nano 2023, 17, 1725–1738. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  70. Canales, R.; Agirre, I.; Barrio, V.L. Ni-Fe nanoparticles prepared using hydrotalcite precursors enhance the photocatalytic performance of CO2 methanation. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 2024, 56, 1435–1445. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  71. He, Y.L.; Zhou, Y.; Feng, J.; Xing, M.Y. Photothermal conversion of CO2 to fuel with nickel-based catalysts: A review. Environ. Funct. Mater. 2022, 1, 204–217. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  72. Ghoussoub, M.; Xia, M.K.; Duchesne, P.D.; Segal, D.; Ozin, G. Principles of photothermal gas-phase heterogeneous CO2 catalysis. Energy Environ. Sci. 2019, 12, 1122–1142. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  73. Fan, W.K.; Tahir, M. Recent developments in photothermal reactors with understanding on the role of light/heat for CO2 hydrogenation to fuels: A review. Chem. Eng. J. 2022, 427, 131617. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  74. Zhao, S.H.; Li, C.H.; Ren, K.K.; Fang, Z.B.; Fang, P.; Zhu, Y.Y.; Fang, P.F. Ternary Ni-Co-Fe oxides based on Prussian blue analog for efficient photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction to CO and CH4. Appl. Catal. A Gen. 2023, 655, 119109. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  75. Zhang, F.; Li, Y.H.; Qi, M.Y.; Yamada, Y.M.A.; Anpo, M.; Tang, Z.R.; Xu, Y.J. Photothermal catalytic CO2 reduction over nanomaterials. Chem Catal. 2021, 1, 272–297. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  76. Kattel, S.; Liu, P.; Chen, J.G.G. Tuning Selectivity of CO2 Hydrogenation Reactions at the Metal/Oxide Interface. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 9739–9754. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  77. Zhang, X.L.; Hu, S.; Zhang, F.Y.; Xing, S.C.; Hu, H.L.; Ye, J.H.; Wang, D.F. Tunable Selectivity of Photothermal CO2 Reduction over Composition-Mediated Ni-Mo Alloy Catalysts. Energy Technol. 2024, 2301505. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  78. Li, Q.; Wang, C.Q.; Wang, H.L.; Chen, J.; Chen, J.; Jia, H.P. Disclosing Support-Size-Dependent Effect on Ambient Light-Driven Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation over Nickel/Titanium Dioxide. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202318166. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  79. Zhu, X.L.; Zong, H.B.; Pérez, C.J.V.; Miao, H.H.; Sun, W.; Yuan, Z.M.; Wang, S.H.; Zeng, G.X.; Xu, H.; Jiang, Z.Y.; et al. Supercharged CO2 Photothermal catalytic Methanation: High Conversion, Rate, and Selectivity. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202218694. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  80. Yang, G.X.; Wang, Q.; Kuwahara, Y.; Mori, K.; Yamashita, H. Recent Progress of Studies on Photoconversion and Photothermal Conversion of CO2 with Single-Atom Catalysts. Chem. Bio Eng. 2024, 1, 289–311. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  81. Singh, S.; Verma, R.; Kaul, N.; Sa, J.; Punjal, A.; Prabhu, S.; Polshettiwar, V. Surface plasmon-enhanced photo-driven CO2 hydrogenation by hydroxy-terminated nickel nitride nanosheets. Nat. Commun. 2023, 14, 2551. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  82. Song, X.X.; Gao, L.J.; Wu, M.Q.; Yuan, D.C.; Kang, X.X.; Lian, R.Q.; San, X.Y.; Li, Y.G. Atomically dispersed Ni catalyst to boost weak sunlight-driven CO2 hydrogenation with 100% CO selectivity. App. Surf. Sci. 2023, 609, 155339. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  83. Jia, Z.W.; Ning, S.B.; Tong, Y.X.; Chen, X.; Hu, H.L.; Liu, L.Q.; Ye, J.H.; Wang, D.F. Selective Photothermal Reduction of CO2 to CO over Ni-Nanoparticle/N-Doped CeO2 Nanocomposite Catalysts. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2021, 4, 10485–10494. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  84. Zhao, T.T.; Yang, Z.Y.; Tang, Y.X.; Liu, J.R.; Wang, F.L. Advances and Perspectives of Photopromoted CO2 Hydrogenation for Methane Production: Catalyst Development and Mechanism Investigations. Energy Fuels 2022, 36, 6711–6735. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  85. Zhu, Y.F.; Xie, B.Q.; Yuwono, J.A.; Kumar, P.; Sharma, A.S.; Nielsen, M.P.; Bendavid, A.; Amal, R.; Scott, J.; Lovell, E.C. Making light work: Designing plasmonic structures for the selective photothermal methanation of carbon dioxide. EES Catal. 2024, 2, 834–849. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  86. Fan, W.K.; Tahir, M.; Alias, H. Visible light promoted low temperature photothermal CO2 methanation over morphologically engineered Ni/TiO2 NWs catalyst. Mater. Today Proc. 2024, 97, 9–16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  87. Li, P.; Zhang, S.L.; Xiao, Z.R.; Zhang, H.; Ye, F.; Gu, J.M.; Wang, J.D.; Li, G.Z.; Wang, D.S. Ni-TiO2 catalysts derived from metal-organic framework for efficient photo-thermal CO2 methanation. Fuel 2024, 357, 129817. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  88. Zhang, G.L.; Xu, Q.; Huang, H.; Zhou, F.; Yu, L.Y.; Chen, Q.; Yang, J.R.; Xiao, Y.L.; Zhang, Q. Ni-Doped In2O3 Photothermal Coupling Catalyzed Boosted Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation to Methanol. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2024, 63, 968–979. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  89. Liu, M.; Chen, G.; Song, Z.; He, Z.; Zhong, A.; Cui, M. Catalytic Dechlorination of Three Organochlorides by Recyclable Nano-Palladium-Engineered Natural Sponge with Formic Acid. Catalysts 2024, 14, 424. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  90. Ye, D.; Liu, L.; Peng, Q.; Qiu, J.; Gong, H.; Zhong, A.; Liu, S. Effect of Controlling Thiophene Rings on D-A Polymer Photocatalysts Accessed via Direct Arylation for Hydrogen Production. Molecules 2023, 28, 4507. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Molecules 29 03882 g001
Figure 1. (a) The XRD image and (b) TEM image of atomic Ni/CeO2. (c) The CO production rate and (d) CO selectivity of atomic Ni/CeO2 under varying sunlight irradiation. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [82]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier B.V.
Figure 1. (a) The XRD image and (b) TEM image of atomic Ni/CeO2. (c) The CO production rate and (d) CO selectivity of atomic Ni/CeO2 under varying sunlight irradiation. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [82]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier B.V.
Molecules 29 03882 g001
Molecules 29 03882 g002
Figure 2. (a) XRD images of samples, (b) photothermal CO2 hydrogenation activities of samples, (c) cyclic reaction of Ni/N5.0-CeO2, and (d) XPS spectrum of N 1s in Ni/N5.0-CeO2 after reaction. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [83]. Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society.
Figure 2. (a) XRD images of samples, (b) photothermal CO2 hydrogenation activities of samples, (c) cyclic reaction of Ni/N5.0-CeO2, and (d) XPS spectrum of N 1s in Ni/N5.0-CeO2 after reaction. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [83]. Copyright 2021, American Chemical Society.
Molecules 29 03882 g002
Molecules 29 03882 g003
Figure 3. (a,b) The TEM image of Ni/TiO2. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) production rate of the samples [87]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier B.V.
Figure 3. (a,b) The TEM image of Ni/TiO2. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) production rate of the samples [87]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier B.V.
Molecules 29 03882 g003
Molecules 29 03882 g004
Figure 4. (a) The production rate and (b) selectivity images of the samples. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) CH4 selectivity of the samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [78]. Copyright 2024, Wiley. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [79]. Copyright 2023, Wiley.
Figure 4. (a) The production rate and (b) selectivity images of the samples. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) CH4 selectivity of the samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [78]. Copyright 2024, Wiley. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [79]. Copyright 2023, Wiley.
Molecules 29 03882 g004
Molecules 29 03882 g005
Figure 5. (a) The light absorption and (b) CO2 TPD images of In2O3 and 10%Ni-In2O3. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) methanol yield of the samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [88]. Copyright 2024, American Chemical Society.
Figure 5. (a) The light absorption and (b) CO2 TPD images of In2O3 and 10%Ni-In2O3. (c) The CO2 conversion and (d) methanol yield of the samples. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [88]. Copyright 2024, American Chemical Society.
Molecules 29 03882 g005
Molecules 29 03882 g006
Figure 6. In situ FT-IR spectra of CO2 photothermal reduction of NiMo alloy in infrared reactor flowing under light irradiation. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [77]. Copyright 2024, Wiley.
Figure 6. In situ FT-IR spectra of CO2 photothermal reduction of NiMo alloy in infrared reactor flowing under light irradiation. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [77]. Copyright 2024, Wiley.
Molecules 29 03882 g006
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Yuan, Z.; Sun, X.; Wang, H.; Zhao, X.; Jiang, Z. Applications of Ni-Based Catalysts in Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction. Molecules 2024, 29, 3882. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163882

AMA Style

Yuan Z, Sun X, Wang H, Zhao X, Jiang Z. Applications of Ni-Based Catalysts in Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction. Molecules. 2024; 29(16):3882. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163882

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yuan, Zhimin, Xianhui Sun, Haiquan Wang, Xingling Zhao, and Zaiyong Jiang. 2024. "Applications of Ni-Based Catalysts in Photothermal CO2 Hydrogenation Reaction" Molecules 29, no. 16: 3882. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29163882

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop