Solar Photothermal CO2 Conversion: Harnessing Light and Heat for Carbon Neutrality: A Mini Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70917/jcc-2026-013Keywords:
Photothermal catalysis, CO2 conversion, Solar fuels, Machine learningAbstract
Photothermal CO2 conversion is a promising strategy for sustainable solar fuel production, which integrates photocatalytic and thermocatalytic processes to enhance solar energy utilization, reaction kinetics, and product selectivity. By coupling photon-induced charge excitation with localized thermal effects, photothermal systems enable the efficient activation of thermodynamically stable CO2 molecules under relatively mild conditions. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles underlying photocatalysis and thermocatalysis, and their synergistic effects in photothermal catalysis. It discusses photonic–thermal coupling, plasmonic and non-plasmonic pathways, and major CO2 conversion routes such as hydrogenation and artificial photosynthesis. Advances in the design of efficient nanostructured catalysts, focusing on light absorption, heat management, charge dynamics, and optofluidic reactors, are also highlighted. Despite significant progress, challenges remain, such as the unclear thermal and nonthermal contributions, which limit mechanistic understanding and catalyst design. Insufficient insight into energy transfer, deactivation, and local reaction environments also hinders the efficiency. Practical issues, such as stability, light penetration, heat control, and scalability, limit industrial use. Future research should integrate operando characterization, modeling, and machine learning to understand the structure–performance relationships and develop efficient catalysts. Photothermal CO2 conversion is advancing rapidly, with the potential for carbon-neutral energy production through efficient solar-driven catalytic processes.
References
Riffat, J. and Samaei, S.R. (2025) ‘Recent Advances in Perovskite–Silicon Tandem Solar Cells: Progress, Challenges, and Pathways to Commercialisation’, Energy Catalyst, 1, pp. 113–126. doi: 10.61552/EC.2025.009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61552/EC.2025.009
Assad, M.K. (2025) ‘The impact of climate change induced temperature rise on compression power and CO2 emissions: A theoretical approach’, Research and Reviews in Sustainability, 1(1), pp. 23–31. doi: 10.5334/rss.12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/rss.12
Uyar, M. and Hayber, S.E. (2025) ‘Impact of clean energy integration on CO2 intensity in European power systems’, Global Decarbonisation, 1(1), pp. 1–18. doi: 10.17184/eac.9904. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17184/eac.9904
Gao, M., Zhang, T. and Ho, G.W. (2022) ‘Advances of photothermal chemistry in photocatalysis, thermocatalysis, and synergetic photothermocatalysis for solar-to-fuel generation’, Nano Research, 15(12), pp. 9985–10005. doi: 10.1007/s12274-022-4795-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-4795-3
Liang, H., et al. (2026) ‘Boosted photothermal coupled hydrogen evolution with carbon graphite (molybdenum-molybdenum carbide) composite’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 200, p. 152926. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152926
Rehan, M.A., et al. (2025a) ‘Recent advances in hybrid photocatalysts for efficient solar photocatalytic hydrogen production’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 97, pp. 920–949. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.11.420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.11.420
Ramos-Fernandez, E.V., Rendon-Patiño, A., Mateo, D., Wang, X., Dally, P., Cui, M., Castaño, P. and Gascon, J. (2025) ‘Photothermal catalysts, light and heat management: from materials design to performance evaluation’, Advanced Energy Materials, 15(12), p. 2405272. doi: 10.1002/aenm.202405272. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202405272
Guene Lougou, B., et al. (2024) ‘Solar-driven photothermal catalytic CO₂ conversion: a review’, Rare Metals, 43(7), pp. 2913–2939. doi: 10.1007/s12598-024-03009-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-024-02638-4
Fresno, F., Iglesias-Juez, A. and Coronado, J.M. (2023) ‘Photothermal catalytic CO₂ conversion: beyond catalysis and photocatalysis’, Topics in Current Chemistry, 381(4), p. 21. doi: 10.1007/s41061-023-00438-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-023-00430-z
Guo, Y., et al. (2025) ‘Photothermal catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenation to CO (A Review)’, Russian Journal of General Chemistry, 95(8), pp. 1895–1905. doi: 10.1134/S1070363225700495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1070363225600432
Wang, Z.-J., Song, H., Pang, H., Ning, Y., Dao, T.D., Wang, Z., Chen, H., Weng, Y., Fu, Q., Nagao, T., Fang, Y. and Ye, J. (2019) ‘Photo-assisted methanol synthesis via CO₂ reduction under ambient pressure over plasmonic Cu/ZnO catalysts’, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 250, pp. 10–16. doi: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.03.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.03.003
Wang, Z.-J., Song, H., Liu, H. and Ye, J. (2024) ‘Photo-thermo catalytic conversion of CO₂: what, why, how and future perspectives’, in Advances in CO₂ Utilization: From Fundamentals to Applications. Singapore: Springer, pp. 37–52. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-6864-8_3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8822-8_2
Hong, J., Xu, C., Deng, B., Gao, Y., Zhu, X., Zhang, X. and Zhang, Y. (2022) ‘Photothermal chemistry based on solar energy: from synergistic effects to practical applications’, Advanced Science, 9(3), p. 2103926. doi: 10.1002/advs.202103926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202103926
Song, C., Wang, Z.-J., Yin, Z., Xiao, D., Zhang, X. and Ye, J. (2022) ‘Principles and applications of photothermal catalysis’, Chem Catalysis, 2(1), pp. 52–83. doi: 10.1016/j.checat.2021.11.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.checat.2021.10.005
Fresno, F., Portela, R., Suárez, S. and Coronado, J.M. (2018) ‘Mechanistic view of the main current issues in photocatalytic CO₂ reduction’, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 9(24), pp. 7192–7204. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b03278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b02336
Yang, Y., et al. (2026) ‘Recent advances in photothermal catalysis for CO₂ conversion to C1 products’, ChemCatChem, 18(4), p. e01857. doi: 10.1002/cctc.2026001857. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202501857
Bian, X., Li, X., Wang, H., Zhang, S., Zhang, J., Li, Y. and Wang, A. (2023) ‘Quantifying the contribution of hot electrons in photothermal catalysis: a case study of ammonia synthesis over carbon-supported Ru catalyst’, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 62(25), p. e202304452. doi: 10.1002/anie.202304452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202304452
Wang, Z.-J., Song, H., Liu, H. and Ye, J. (2020) ‘Coupling of solar energy and thermal energy for carbon dioxide reduction: status and prospects’, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 59(21), pp. 8016–8035. doi: 10.1002/anie.201914925. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201907443
Agrawal, A., Kriegel, I. and Milliron, D.J. (2018) ‘Localized surface plasmon resonance in semiconductor nanocrystals’, Chemical Reviews, 118(6), pp. 3121–3207. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00598. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00613
Li, Y., Xu, Q., Xing, J., Zhang, N., Chen, D., Lu, J., Wu, Z. and Xu, J. (2019) ‘Selective light absorber-assisted single nickel atom catalysts for ambient sunlight-driven CO₂ methanation’, Nature Communications, 10(1), p. 2359. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10378-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10304-y
Xie, T., et al. (2022) ‘Enhanced photothermal catalytic performance of dry reforming of methane over Ni/mesoporous TiO₂ composite catalyst’, Chemical Engineering Journal, 429, p. 132507. doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.132507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.132507
Zhang, Y., Wang, W., Wang, H., Chen, H. and Li, X. (2015) ‘A novel photo-thermochemical cycle for the dissociation of CO₂ using solar energy’, Applied Energy, 156, pp. 223–229. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.07.017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.07.028
Issa Hamoud, H., et al. (2022) ‘In situ and operando spectroscopies in photocatalysis: Powerful techniques for a better understanding of the performance and the reaction mechanism’, Topics in Current Chemistry, 380(5), p. 37. doi: 10.1007/s41061-022-00397-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41061-022-00387-5
Rehan, M.A., et al. (2025b) ‘Experimental investigation of reaction conditions using UiO-66-NH₂/ZnIn₂S₄ for boosting visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 150, p. 150155. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.150155
Rehan, M.A., Li, G. and Tang, X. (2025c) ‘Harnessing synergy of Au/Cu anchored MOF embedded with ZnIn₂S₄ and g-C₃N₄ composites: An experimental study of optical characteristics for photocatalytic applications’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 139, pp. 116–131. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.01.116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.05.263
Ghoussoub, M., Xia, M., Duchesne, P.N., Segal, D., Ozin, G.A. and Wolf, M.O. (2019) ‘Principles of photothermal gas-phase heterogeneous CO₂ catalysis’, Energy & Environmental Science, 12(4), pp. 1122–1142. doi: 10.1039/C8EE03585A. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EE02790K
Jia, J., Wang, K., Kim, J. and Piao, Y. (2017) ‘Photothermal catalyst engineering: hydrogenation of gaseous CO₂ with high activity and tailored selectivity’, Advanced Science, 4(10), p. 1700252. doi: 10.1002/advs.201700252. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201770052
Wang, L., Wang, Y., Cheng, Y., Liu, Z., Guo, Q., Ha, M.N. and Zhao, Z. (2016) ‘Hydrogen-treated mesoporous WO₃ as a reducing agent of CO₂ to fuels (CH₄ and CH₃OH) with enhanced photothermal catalytic performance’, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 4(14), pp. 5314–5322. doi: 10.1039/C5TA10464F. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA10180H
Han, B., Wei, W., Chang, L., Cheng, P. and Hu, Y.H. (2016) ‘Efficient visible-light photocatalytic CO₂ reforming of CH₄’, ACS Catalysis, 6(2), pp. 494–497. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.5b02035. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5b02653
O’Brien, P.G., Sandhel, A., Wood, T.E., Jelle, A.A., Hoch, L.B., Perini, N., Ozin, G.A., Brillet, J. and Buriak, J.M. (2014) ‘Photomethanation of gaseous CO₂ over Ru/silicon nanowire catalysts with visible and near-infrared photons’, Advanced Science, 1(1), p. 1400001. doi: 10.1002/advs.201400001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201400001
Zhang, W., Lu, G., Cui, C., Liu, Y., Li, S., Yan, W., Xing, G., Zhao, Y., Zhang, C. and Guo, Z. (2017) ‘Integration of photothermal effect and heat insulation to efficiently reduce reaction temperature of CO₂ conversion’, Small, 13(7), p. 1602583. doi: 10.1002/smll.201602583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201602583
Zhang, Z.-Y., et al. (2024) ‘Efficient photo-thermal catalytic CO₂ methanation and dynamic structural evolution over Ru/Mg-CeO₂ single-atom catalyst’, Journal of Catalysis, 430, p. 115303. doi: 10.1016/j.jcat.2024.115303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2024.115303
Jiang, H., et al. (2023) ‘Light-driven CO₂ methanation over Au-grafted Ce₀.₉₅Ru₀.₀₅O₂ solid-solution catalysts with activities approaching the thermodynamic limit’, Nature Catalysis, 6(6), pp. 519–530. doi: 10.1038/s41929-023-00958-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-023-00970-z
Zhai, J., et al. (2024) ‘Photo-thermal coupling to enhance CO₂ hydrogenation toward CH₄ over Ru/MnO/Mn₃O₄’, Nature Communications, 15(1), p. 1109. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45452-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45389-7
Wang, Z., et al. (2025) ‘Stable hydroxyl-anchored CuNi nanocatalysts from CuNiMgAl-LDH thermal reduction for efficient photothermal CO₂ conversion’, Nature Communications, 16(1), p. 10497. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60435-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65537-x
Ye, Z., et al. (2024) ‘A synergetic cocatalyst for conversion of carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water into methanol’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(35), p. e2408183121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2408183121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2408183121
Ren, S., et al. (2025) ‘Near-unity photothermal CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol based on a molecule/nanocarbon hybrid catalyst’, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 64(4), p. e202416376. doi: 10.1002/anie.202416376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202416376
Zhang, H., et al. (2025) ‘InNi alloy-induced interface effect promoting the parallel electron transfer: improved photothermal catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation’, Science China Chemistry, 68(6), pp. 2725–2734. doi: 10.1007/s11426-024-2258-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-024-2448-y
Mo, S., et al. (2025) ‘Asymmetric interaction between carbon and Ni-cluster in Ni–C–In photothermal catalysts for point-concentrated solar-driven CO₂ reverse water–gas shift reaction’, ACS Catalysis, 15(4), pp. 2796–2808. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.4c06082. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c05916
Zou, Y., et al. (2024) ‘Surface frustrated Lewis pairs in titanium nitride enable gas phase heterogeneous CO₂ photocatalysis’, Nature Communications, 15(1), p. 10604. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54974-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54951-2
Cai, M.-J., Li, C.-R. and He, L. (2020) ‘Enhancing photothermal CO₂ catalysis by thermal insulating substrates’, Rare Metals, 39(8), pp. 881–886. doi: 10.1007/s12598-020-01475-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-020-01431-3
Kho, E.T., Tan, T.H., Lovell, E., Wong, R.J., Scott, J. and Amal, R. (2017) ‘A review on photo-thermal catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide’, Green Energy & Environment, 2(3), pp. 204–217. doi: 10.1016/j.gee.2017.08.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gee.2017.06.003
Cai, M., Wen, J., Chu, W., Cheng, X. and Li, C. (2021) ‘Greenhouse-inspired supra-photothermal CO₂ catalysis’, Nature Energy, 6(8), pp. 807–814. doi: 10.1038/s41560-021-00874-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00867-w
He, H., et al. (2025) ‘Continuous flow photothermal catalytic CO₂ reduction: materials, mechanisms, and system design’, ACS Catalysis, 15(12), pp. 10480–10520. doi: 10.1021/acscatal.5c02034. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5c02269
Ali, M.M., Hossen, M.A. and Abd Aziz, A. (2025) ‘Progress in prediction of photocatalytic CO₂ reduction using machine learning approach: a mini review’, Next Materials, 8, p. 100522. doi: 10.1016/j.nxmate.2025.100522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxmate.2025.100522
Kotob, E., et al. (2025) ‘Unlocking CO₂ conversion potential with single atom catalysts and machine learning in energy application’, iScience, 28(6), p. 112345. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112345. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112306
Sharma, V.C. and Gupta, J.K. (2025) ‘AI integration framework for sustainable architecture: optimized pathways’, Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Cities, 1(1), pp. 1–21. doi: 10.1234/aisc.2025.001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.65582/aifsc.2026.002
Wen, X., et al. (2025) ‘Machine learning-driven design of single-atom catalysts for carbon dioxide valorization to high-value chemicals: a review of photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and thermocatalysis’, Green Chemistry, 27(18), pp. 4898–4925. doi: 10.1039/D5GC01234A. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5GC00739A
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mirza Abdullah Rehan (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
