Recent advances in CO2 hydrogenation to ethanol over non-precious metal catalysts

In response to the rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration resulting from excessive consumption of fossil energy, the hydrogenation of CO 2 to ethanol presents a promising pathway for carbon resource utilization. Within this context, non-precious metal catalysts have attracted growing research interest due to their cost-effectiveness and potential for scalable application. This review systematically examines recent advances in non-precious metal-catalyzed CO 2 hydrogenation to ethanol. From a thermodynamic perspective, the effects of key operating parameters such as temperature, pressure, space velocity, and hydrogen-carbon ratio were systematically analyzed. Special emphasis was placed on the trade-off between the low temperature conducive to ethanol production and the high temperature required to drive CO 2 conversion, and the role of water in the hydrogenation of CO 2 to ethanol was elaborated. Three principal reaction mechanisms are discussed in detail: CO insertion, methanol-mediated and formate-mediated pathways. Furthermore, six key strategies for modulating catalyst performance are summarized, with the focus on their underlying principles and reported effects. Finally, the reviews identify existing bottlenecks, such as ambiguous structure-activity relationships of catalysts and the insufficient precision in active sites engineering, Future directions are proposed, including rational catalyst design, in-depth mechanistic studies and the integration of artificial intelligence for high-throughput catalyst screening. This review aims to provide both theoretical insights and practical guidance for the development of efficient and industrial viable non-precious metal catalytic systems for CO 2 hydrogenation to ethanol. • This review critically examines recent advances in CO 2 hydrogenation to ethanol over non-precious metal catalysts. • It discusses three key mechanisms: CO insertion, methanol-mediated, and formate-mediated pathways. • It outlines six modulation strategies: active component engineering, alkali metal promotion, support/confinement, sulfidation, and tandem catalysis. • It proposes future directions including rational catalyst design, AI-assisted screening, and structure-activity studies.