Carbon-based nanostructures for emerging photocatalysis: CO2 reduction, N2 fixation, and organic conversion

The quest for carbon neutrality has become a major component of global climate governance. Significant efforts are focusing on alternative energy technologies to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is considered promising as a green and sustainable technology to address important energy and environmental challenges. Due to their low cost and unique electronic and optical properties, carbon materials (including graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon quantum dots, and carbon nitride) have been studied extensively as photocatalysts. In this review, we highlight the state-of-the-art of carbon-based nanomaterials used in emerging photocatalytic applications such as the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), N2 fixation reaction (NFR), and organic synthesis reaction (OSR).