Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol Using Solar Energy - A Brief Review

Abstract

This article presents a meticulous and comprehensive review of literature reported on conversion of carbon dioxide, a green house gas into methanol or to any other value added chemical following various routes including catalytic, thermal, biological, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical (PEC). More emphasis is given on conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol using solar energy (i.e., artificial photosynthesis) as this process can tackle the human generated two pressing problems, i.e., “global warming” and “energy crisis” today world is facing. It also covers information on various materials required for designing and development of reliable PEC cells for conversion of carbon dioxide to more value added chemicals including methanol. Finally, it also provides the scope for the future research on this topic with adequate literature support.