Nanomaterials for adsorption and conversion of CO₂ under gentle conditions

Global warming effect caused by excessive emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO₂ from modern industries, are emerging as serious environmental problem nowadays. Many strategies have been developed to address this issue, including solar energy utilization, green plants cultivation and coal desulfurization. These existing strategies always need sophisticated equipment and harsh reaction conditions, and are usually with limited efficiency. With the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, it is becoming an effective strategy to directly capture and convert CO₂ with nanomaterials into valuable chemicals under gentle conditions. Herein, we summarize recent progress on nanomaterials for adsorption and conversion of CO₂ under gentle conditions, including various physical and chemical processes, and artificial photosynthesis. Future perspective and research direction of nanomaterials for CO₂ adsorption and conversion have been put forward on the basis of existing research works and our experimental experience.