Advances in Electro and Photocatalytic CO2RR by Earth Abundant Metal Based Molecular Catalysts

Fuel production by chemical hydrogenation of CO2 is a non-sustainable and costly pathway. Electro- and photocatalysis method provides a renewable solution for energy generation. Maintaining a balance between low overpotential and high stability of catalysts can be provided by metal complexes through ligand tunability. This review describes earth abundant transition metal complexes for eCO2RR (electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction) and pCO2RR (photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction) emphasizing metal specific- selective C1 and C2 product formation along with different catalytic parameters and mechanism. Overall, the review presents a unified electro- and photocatalytic CO2 reduction study.