Strategies for Designing Nanoparticles for Electro- and Photocatalytic CO₂ Reduction

Conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) into value-added chemicals has attracted much attention because it can not only resolve global warming issues by reducing CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere, but also produce renewable hydrocarbon fuels that are important feedstocks for the chemical industry. Among the diverse approaches reported, CO₂ reduction via electro- and photocatalytic methods is at the center of topics due to potential engineering of reaction performance through rational design of catalyst features. In this Minireview, we highlight recent strategies for designing nanoparticles to maximize the reaction efficiency and selectivity; from a materials viewpoint, these strategies can provide critical information to guide future research directions.