Atomic/molecular layer deposition strategies for enhanced CO₂ capture, utilisation and storage materials

Elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere and the diminishing reserves of fossil fuels have raised profound concerns regarding the resulting consequences of global climate change and the future supply of energy. Hence, the reduction and transformation of CO₂ not only mitigates environmental pollution but also generates value-added chemicals, providing a dual remedy to address both energy and environmental challenges. Despite notable advancements, the low conversion efficiency of CO₂ remains a major obstacle, largely attributed to its inert chemical nature. It is imperative to engineer catalysts/materials that exhibit high conversion efficiency, selectivity, and stability for CO₂ transformation. With unparalleled precision at the atomic level, atomic layer deposition (ALD) and molecular layer deposition (MLD) methods utilize various strategies, including ultrathin modification, overcoating, interlayer coating, area-selective deposition, template-assisted deposition, and sacrificial-layer-assisted deposition, to synthesize numerous novel metal-based materials with diverse structures. These materials, functioning as active materials, passive materials or modifiers, have contributed to the enhancement of catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability, effectively addressing the challenges linked to CO₂ transformation. Herein, this review focuses on ALD and MLD's role in fabricating materials for electro-, photo-, photoelectro-, and thermal catalytic CO₂ reduction, CO₂ capture and separation, and electrochemical CO₂ sensing. Significant emphasis is dedicated to the ALD and MLD designed materials, their crucial role in enhancing performance, and exploring the relationship between their structures and catalytic activities for CO₂ transformation. Finally, this comprehensive review presents the summary, challenges and prospects for ALD and MLD-designed materials for CO₂ transformation.