Challenges and advances in understanding the roadmap for direct hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to ethanol

The rising concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and its impact on climate change necessitate urgent action for mitigation. Achieving carbon neutrality and reducing CO2 emissions have become imperative to limit global temperature rise. Among various strategies, the direct conversion of CO2 to ethanol has gained significant attention due to its potential to recycle and utilize CO2 emissions. However, challenges such as CO2 activation, selectivity control, and catalyst stability hinder the efficient conversion of CO2 to ethanol. Despite these challenges, significant advancements have been made in catalyst design and optimization. This review comprehensively examines catalyst design strategies, including metal catalysts, bimetallic catalysts, single-atom catalysts (SACs), MOF catalysts, and promoter-induced catalysts, along with their corresponding mechanistic studies. The challenges and recent advances in enhancing ethanol selectivity and catalyst stability are discussed. This review provides insights into catalyst advancements and outlines future directions to overcome challenges and achieve efficient CO2 to ethanol conversion, offering a promising pathway toward sustainable fuel production.