Polymeric Carbon Nitride-based Single Atom Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction to C1 Products

Photocatalytic CO2 reduction to C1 fuels is considered to be an important way for alleviating increasingly serious energy crisis and environmental pollution. Due to the environment-friendly, simple preparation, easy formation of highly-stable metal-nitrogen(M-Nx) coordination bonds, and suitable band structure, polymeric carbon nitride-based single-atom catalysts(C3N4-based SACs) are expected to become a potential for CO2 reduction under visible-light irradiation. In this review, we summarize the recent advancement on C3N4-based SACs for photocatalytic CO2 reduction to C1 products, including the reaction mechanism for photocatalytic CO2 reduction to C1 products, the structure and synthesis methods of C3N4-based SACs and their applications toward photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction(CO2RR) for C1 production. The current challenges and future opportunities of C3N4-based SACs for photoreduction of CO2 are also discussed.