{"title":"Supercritical CO2-mediated strategy for structural engineering of photocatalysts and electrocatalysts: Mechanisms and applications","authors":"Weiguang Xiong , Dagui Zhang , Zhaonian Hong , Biaoqi Chen , Jianfei Xu , Ranjith Kumar Kankala , Shibin Wang , Aizheng Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.partic.2025.04.008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Under the driving force of the “carbon cycle” goals, achieving efficient synthesis and precise functional regulation of catalytic materials while simultaneously addressing CO<sub>2</sub> resource utilization and environmental friendliness has become a central challenge in the fields of energy catalysis and pollution control. Traditional synthesis methods often face issues such as insufficient precision in microstructure regulation, high energy consumption in processes, and solvent pollution, while the inadequate exposure of active sites and low mass transfer efficiency of CO<sub>2</sub> conversion catalysts further hinder their large-scale application. In response to these challenges, supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO<sub>2</sub>) technology, leveraging its unique physicochemical properties and green process characteristics, offers an innovative solution for the multi-scale structural design and performance optimization of catalytic materials. This review systematically analyzes the mechanisms by which sc-CO<sub>2</sub> technology regulates micro/nano structures (e.g., defect engineering, hierarchical pore construction), modifies active sites (e.g., heteroatom doping), and enhances reaction kinetics in the synthesis of photo/electrocatalysts, revealing its key role in improving CO<sub>2</sub> reduction efficiency, pollutant degradation rates, and sensor sensitivity. Furthermore, it highlights that, future advancements in machine learning-driven process optimization, single-atom catalyst design, and reactor fluid dynamics innovation can overcome current limitations such as sensitivity to pressure-temperature conditions and insufficient material stability. This review provides a theoretical framework for developing sc-CO<sub>2</sub> synthesis technologies that combine atomic-level precision control with industrial feasibility, thereby advancing clean energy conversion and low-carbon manufacturing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":401,"journal":{"name":"Particuology","volume":"102 ","pages":"Pages 86-103"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Particuology","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674200125001014","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Under the driving force of the “carbon cycle” goals, achieving efficient synthesis and precise functional regulation of catalytic materials while simultaneously addressing CO2 resource utilization and environmental friendliness has become a central challenge in the fields of energy catalysis and pollution control. Traditional synthesis methods often face issues such as insufficient precision in microstructure regulation, high energy consumption in processes, and solvent pollution, while the inadequate exposure of active sites and low mass transfer efficiency of CO2 conversion catalysts further hinder their large-scale application. In response to these challenges, supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) technology, leveraging its unique physicochemical properties and green process characteristics, offers an innovative solution for the multi-scale structural design and performance optimization of catalytic materials. This review systematically analyzes the mechanisms by which sc-CO2 technology regulates micro/nano structures (e.g., defect engineering, hierarchical pore construction), modifies active sites (e.g., heteroatom doping), and enhances reaction kinetics in the synthesis of photo/electrocatalysts, revealing its key role in improving CO2 reduction efficiency, pollutant degradation rates, and sensor sensitivity. Furthermore, it highlights that, future advancements in machine learning-driven process optimization, single-atom catalyst design, and reactor fluid dynamics innovation can overcome current limitations such as sensitivity to pressure-temperature conditions and insufficient material stability. This review provides a theoretical framework for developing sc-CO2 synthesis technologies that combine atomic-level precision control with industrial feasibility, thereby advancing clean energy conversion and low-carbon manufacturing.
期刊介绍:
The word ‘particuology’ was coined to parallel the discipline for the science and technology of particles.
Particuology is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes frontier research articles and critical reviews on the discovery, formulation and engineering of particulate materials, processes and systems. It especially welcomes contributions utilising advanced theoretical, modelling and measurement methods to enable the discovery and creation of new particulate materials, and the manufacturing of functional particulate-based products, such as sensors.
Papers are handled by Thematic Editors who oversee contributions from specific subject fields. These fields are classified into: Particle Synthesis and Modification; Particle Characterization and Measurement; Granular Systems and Bulk Solids Technology; Fluidization and Particle-Fluid Systems; Aerosols; and Applications of Particle Technology.
Key topics concerning the creation and processing of particulates include:
-Modelling and simulation of particle formation, collective behaviour of particles and systems for particle production over a broad spectrum of length scales
-Mining of experimental data for particle synthesis and surface properties to facilitate the creation of new materials and processes
-Particle design and preparation including controlled response and sensing functionalities in formation, delivery systems and biological systems, etc.
-Experimental and computational methods for visualization and analysis of particulate system.
These topics are broadly relevant to the production of materials, pharmaceuticals and food, and to the conversion of energy resources to fuels and protection of the environment.