Polyoxometalates for carbon dioxide activation: Current progress and perspective

The elevated level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the troposphere is playing a crucial role in changing the earth's climatic system. Excess CO₂ concentration is trapping a substantial proportion of heat imparting adverse range of environmental effects like extreme weather events, agricultural impacts and disruption of the ecosystem. Strategies such as CO₂ capturing and storage are being pursued using polyoxometalates (POMs) to mitigate the elevated level of CO₂ and their efficient conversion into useful chemicals. This review outlines the importance of CO₂ reduction by electrocatalytic and photocatalytic reduction of CO₂. POMs have several advantages for CO₂ activation because of their promising catalytic activity, high selectivity and versatility for incorporating different metal ions and ligands. The efficient redox active metal center facilitates the conversion of CO₂ by providing sufficient activation energy. Their robust structure also enables them resist harsh conditions, including high temperature and acidic or basic conditions. Owing to these properties, POMs can be a catalyst, co-catalyst, photosensitizer or multielectron donor for CO₂ reduction. Finally, we stated the challenges and future insight for CO₂ activation using POMs.