The Active Sites Engineering of Catalysts for CO2 Activation and Conversion

Catalytic CO 2 conversion is considered to be a promising way to simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emission and realize carbon resource recycling. Several typical reactions including hydrogenation, carboxylation, carboxylic cyclization, and cycloaddition have been extensively studied for yielding high value‐added products. During the process of CO 2 conversion, the introduction of light energy and electricity will dramatically lower the energy consumption for CO 2 activation so that the whole reaction can efficiently take place at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. For traditional chemical, photochemical, and electrochemical conversions, the processes can be effectively promoted by the rational engineering of active sites on the catalysts. Herein, the most recent advances on the active site engineering of catalysts involving metal or alloy sites, Lewis sites, defect sites, and elemental doping sites are focused on. The influencing mechanisms on the CO 2 activation and selective conversion are further discussed according to the structural properties and the interactions with different active sites. Finally, a brief perspective on the future opportunities and challenges in this field is also presented. Researchers who attempt to explore more efficient catalysts for CO 2 activation and selective conversion will be guided.