Z‐Scheme Photocatalytic Systems for Carbon Dioxide Reduction: Where Are We Now?

Abstract Transforming CO 2 into fuels by utilizing sunlight is promising to synchronously overcome global warming and energy‐supply issues. It is crucial to design efficient photocatalysts with intriguing features such as robust light‐harvesting ability, strong redox potential, high charge‐separation, and excellent durability. Hitherto, a single‐component photocatalyst is incapable to simultaneously meet all these criteria. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, constructing artificial Z‐scheme photocatalysts provides a facile way to conquer these bottlenecks. In this review, we firstly introduce the fundamentals of photocatalytic CO 2 reduction and Z‐scheme systems. Thereafter we discuss state‐of‐the‐art Z‐scheme photocatalytic CO 2 reduction, whereby special attention is placed on the predominant factors that affect photoactivity. Additionally, further modifications that are important for efficient photocatalysis are reviewed.