Structure–Activity Relationship of Ni-Based Catalysts toward CO2 Methanation: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

CO2 hydrogenation to methane as a highly attractive reaction can not only recycle the CO2 emissions but also provide an efficient way to produce an available energy from renewable hydrogen. Extensive studies have been reported on CO2 methanation since the past decade. While the catalytic materials for enhanced activity have been discussed, the potential structure–activity relationships are still less fully understood. Therefore, it is valuable to provide a critical review focused on the structure–activity relationships between the catalyst structure and catalytic performance for CO2 methanation. First, we discuss the selection of the metals and supports from the hydrogenation mechanism in this review. Generally, various metal oxides and carbon materials are applied in this reaction system, whereas nickel metal is regarded as one promising active component. Then, we summarized the recent progresses based on Ni catalysts regarding compositions and size effects of active metal. Furthermore, the compositions and morphologies of support on this reaction are described in detail, involving surface groups, oxygen defects, and morphology from various dimensions of supports. In addition, we also present the roles of metal–support interactions in CO2 methanation. The challenges and perspectives in this field have also been provided to put insights into the future catalyst design.