Recent progress and future perspectives of ionic liquid-based carbon dioxide capture and conversion

Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80 percent of greenhouse emissions and the increasing CO 2 emission has been identified as a critical environmental issue. On the other hand, CO 2 is a potentially renewable resource of a single carbon molecule, and new technologies to utilize CO 2 in producing net-zero fuels and chemicals are of global interest. Great efforts have been made in the development of new materials and processes for CO 2 capture and utilization (CCU). Among them, ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted much attention due to their unique characteristics such as high CO 2 solubility, high ionic conductivity, negligible volatility, non-flammability, wide electrochemical window, and high thermal stability, as well as good solvation ability. This review summarizes the most recent efforts devoted to IL-based absorption, catalysts, and CO 2 capture and utilization processes. We discuss the factors that affect the interaction between ILs and CO 2 , impacting on the viscosity and CO 2 solubility and preview the coupling of CO 2 capture with electrochemical conversion of CO 2 . Finally, we provide an overview on the advantages and disadvantages of the IL-based process for practical applications. • The most recent progress in IL-based absorption, and CO 2 capture and utilization processes is reviewed. • The factors that affect the interaction between ILs and CO 2 , impacting on the CO 2 solubility are discussed. • The coupling of CO 2 capture with electrochemical conversion of CO 2 is previewed. • The advantages and disadvantages of the IL-based process for practical applications are summarized.