CO₂ accumulation and its detrimental environmental impacts have become issues of public concern. To address the carbon emission issues, various strategies have been proposed, among which carbon capture and utilization (CCU), one of the negative carbon technologies, is regarded as an important initiative. In particular, converting such captured CO2 to valuable products without desorption can avoid energy consumption in CO₂ desorption. Furthermore, the captured CO₂ can be considered to be the activated CO₂ species and thus promotes the subsequent transformation under mild conditions.

CO₂ is a thermodynamically stable molecule with a standard formation enthalpy of 393.5 kJ mol^–1. Simultaneously, the linear symmetric structure makes CO₂ a kinetically inert molecule. The above features imply that the CO₂ transformation relies on efficient CO₂ activation and high energy input (from the substrate with high free energy or external light and/or electrical energy). Accordingly, the activation of CO₂ through thermo-, photo-, or electrocatalytic processes is a prerequisite to CO₂ valorization.

Recently, Liang-Nian He’s group introduced the activation mechanism of CO₂ and substrates, as well as the rational design of nanocatalytic materials based on conversion strategies. They demonstrated the research ideas and processes of using molecular engineering technology to reasonably design nanomaterials and achieve the transition from molecular catalysis to heterogeneous catalysis, which helps to comprehensively understand the role of nanocatalytic materials in CO₂ resource utilization, At the same time, it provides beneficial insights for the development of new CO₂ conversion strategies based on rational design of nanomaterials. Relevant achievements were published in Acc. Chem. Res., 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.3c00316.