A review on TiO_2--based materials for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction technology has a broad potential for dealing with the issues of energy shortage and global warming. As a widely studied material used in the photocatalytic process, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been continuously modified and tailored for more desirable application. Recently, the defective/reduced titanium dioxide (TiO_2-) catalyst has attracted broad attention due to its excellent photocatalytic performance for CO₂ reduction. In this perspective review, we comprehensively present the recent progress in TiO_2--based materials for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. In detail, the review starts with the fundamentals of CO₂ photocatalytic reduction. Then, the synthesis of a defective TiO₂ structure is introduced for the regulation of its photocatalytic performance, especially its optical properties and dissociative adsorption properties. In addition, the current application of TiO_2--based photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction is also highlighted, such as metal-TiO_2-, oxide-TiO_2- and TiO_2--carbon-based photocatalysts. Finally, the existing challenges and possible scope of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction over TiO_2--based materials are discussed. We hope that this review can provide an effective reference for the development of more efficient and reasonable photocatalysts based on TiO_2-.