Advances in photoelectroreduction of CO2 to hydrocarbons fuels: Contributions of functional materials

Abstract The unbalanced concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has received great attention due to severe effects on the planet. However, as human progress is still growing exponentially, CO2 emissions continue to be a major concern of the modern world. Thus, new technologies able to reduce, sequester, and harness CO2 as a source of new products is a great expectation among researchers. The present work gives an overview of the use of photoelectrocatalysis on the conversion of CO2 onto hydrocarbons fuels. The photoelectrocatalysis is a technique employing different kinds of semiconductors that under UV/Vis irradiation and bias potential can improve CO2 reduction after efficient separation of photogenerated electrons/holes pairs. The best semiconductors acting as photocathodes and the main contributions dealing with the subject are compiled here. This review contributes with an overview of the evolution of photoelectrocatalysis application to dissolved CO2 reduction. Besides, it was also presented a critical analysis of the reduction mechanism involved in some processes and also the highlighted efficiency of some photoreactors.