Advances in Acetic Acid Synthesis via Thermocatalytic Conversion of CO₂

Acetic acid (AA) has a growing market with wide applications within the food industry and chemical intermediates. Conventional AA production processes rely heavily on fossil-based feedstocks and noble metal catalysts, resulting in high energy consumption and cost with poor environmental sustainability. Synthesis of AA using CO₂ is of great importance and presents a promising avenue for addressing environmental challenges and advancing sustainable energy solutions. In this short review, we systematically summarize and discuss the development of AA synthesis from CO₂ since the 1990s, and we manage to provide an in-depth analysis of the recent evolutions and corresponding catalytic systems for AA production from CO₂. The review scrutinizes three ways (four routes) for the conversion of CO₂ to AA, catalytic systems and reaction mechanisms, and offers a future direction for harnessing CO₂ conversion to AA. Readers can acquire a thorough grasp of AA synthesis from CO₂, revealing its promise as a sustainable route for chemical synthesis.