Progress of Nb-containing catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction: a minireview

• Published in: Tungsten Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 284 - 295
• Main Authors: Gao, Jun-Xian, Tian, Wen-Jie, Zhang, Hua-Yang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.12.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adsorption; Arrays; Carbon dioxide; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Chemistry and Materials Science; Copyright; Decoration; Energy consumption; Engineering; Entropy; Heterojunctions; Hydrogenation; Materials Engineering; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Niobium oxides; Noble metals; Nuclear Chemistry; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Photocatalysis; Reaction mechanisms; Review; Selectivity; Spectrum analysis; Thermocatalysis; Electrocatalysis; Carbon dioxide reduction; Photocatalysis; Niobium
• ISSN: 2661-8028; 2661-8036
• DOI: 10.1007/s42864-022-00185-y

Nb-containing catalysts have the potential to catalyze carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction due to their strong surface acidity and CO 2 activation sites. Still, they have not been widely used in the development and design of catalysts due to the theoretical/cost/safety limitations. Related advances have been continuously reported in the literature, demonstrating to some extent the promise of catalytic applications of Nb-containing catalysts in this area. In this minireview, we discuss the structure–activity relationships of Nb-containing catalysts for photo-, electro-, and thermocatalytic reduction of CO 2 . The engineering strategies of Nb-containing catalysts for enhancing the conversion and selectivity of CO 2 reduction are discussed, ranging from Nb doping, noble metal decoration, surface acidity adjustment, oxygen vacancy engineering, and heterojunction construction to Nb or Nb 2 O 5 particle decoration. The theoretical calculation research for the possible reaction paths and product selectivity is also discussed. Finally, the prospects for designing and optimizing Nb-containing catalysts are proposed. With a deep understanding of catalytic activity and reaction mechanism, this minireview is expected to present the optimization of the Nb-containing catalysts for efficient and highly selective CO 2 reduction.