The development of efficient catalysts for CO2 reduction remains a key challenge in the transition toward carbon neutrality and sustainable energy systems. Dual metal atomic site (DMAS) catalysts have emerged as a transformative class of materials, with the potential to surpass traditional single-atom catalysts in a certain circumstance due to the synergistic interplay between two metal centers. This dual site configuration allows for fine-tuning of the geometries, electronic structure, enhanced adsorption of intermediates, and improved catalytic kinetics, offering new opportunities for highly selective and efficient CO2 conversion. Despite significant progress, a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental properties and catalytic behavior of DMAS catalysts remains underdeveloped, limiting their broader application. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in DMAS catalysts for CO2 reduction, encompassing their structural classification, screening strategies, substrate materials, and further elucidates their mechanistic roles and performance variations across diverse CO2 conversion pathways, including electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, thermal catalysis, and other emerging catalytic systems. We highlight the structure-performance relationships governing catalytic activity and selectivity of DMAS catalysts, discuss existing limitations and outline future research directions with a focus on rational catalyst design, operando characterization, and scalable synthesis. By integrating theoretical insights and practical considerations, this review aims to advance the development of DMAS catalysts for sustainable CO2 conversion technologies.
Xu et al. (2026) studied this question.