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Highlights and challenges in the selective reduction of carbon dioxide to methanol

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 5, pages 564–579 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the iconic greenhouse gas and the major factor driving present global climate change, incentivizing its capture and recycling into valuable products and fuels. The 6H+/6e− reduction of CO2 affords CH3OH, a key compound that is a fuel and a platform molecule. In this Review, we compare different routes for CO2 reduction to CH3OH, namely, heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic hydrogenation, as well as enzymatic catalysis, photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. We describe the leading catalysts and the conditions under which they operate, and then consider their advantages and drawbacks in terms of selectivity, productivity, stability, operating conditions, cost and technical readiness. At present, heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysis and electrocatalysis have the greatest promise for large-scale CO2 reduction to CH3OH. The availability and price of sustainable electricity appear to be essential prerequisites for efficient CH3OH synthesis.

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Fig. 1: Carbon cycle of CH3OH, a platform molecule for the chemical industry.
Fig. 2: The Cu–ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst and comparison with other solid materials.
Fig. 3: Molecular complexes of tridentate ligands are active catalysts for CH3OH production.
Fig. 4: Multienzymatic schemes can affect overall CO2-to-CH3OH conversion.
Fig. 5: Photocatalytic CO2 reduction.
Fig. 6: Performances of CO2 reduction electrocatalysts.

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Acknowledgements

S.N.-J., M.V., R.W. and A.Y.K. acknowledge financial support from the European Union (‘Electrons to high value Chemical products’ (E2C) Interreg 2 Seas project). Partial financial support to M.R. from the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. University of Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, University of Artois, UMR 8181 – UCCS – Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, Lille, France

    Sara Navarro-Jaén, Mirella Virginie, Robert Wojcieszak & Andrei Y. Khodakov

  2. Université de Paris, Laboratoire d’Electrochimie Moléculaire, CNRS, Paris, France

    Julien Bonin & Marc Robert

  3. Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France

    Marc Robert

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Navarro-Jaén, S., Virginie, M., Bonin, J. et al. Highlights and challenges in the selective reduction of carbon dioxide to methanol. Nat Rev Chem 5, 564–579 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00289-y

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