Cu-Based Nanocatalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol

Production of methanol from CO2 hydrogenation is a highly attractive method toward recycling greenhouse gases to form clean, high-value commodity chemicals and fuels, with the aim of resolving both environmental issues and energy shortages. This review provides an overview of Cu-based nanocatalyst development for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol that has been achieved recently in terms of support design, promoter addition, and structural improvements, as this line of research has become very popular. In addition, the reaction mechanisms from both experimental work and density functional theory calculations are summarized to showcase key factors influencing the reaction. The overall methanol yield can be tailored by metal active sites and metal–support interaction, as well as the function of promoters. The technical and application challenges of methanol production from CO2 hydrogenation are also summarized with proposed future research directions.