Carbon dioxide and "methanol" economy: advances in the catalytic synthesis of methanol from CO2

Development of the "methanol" economy may be a way to establish the new chemistry under decarbonization conditions. Methanol here is used as a raw material for production of a wide range of chemicals, conventionally obtained from oil. The key process for the "methanol" economy is the reduction of CO₂, which, along with renewable energy, is the main carbon-containing resource in the low-carbon industry. This review summarizes recent data on the main approaches to methanol production from CO₂: catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ with hydrogen on heterogeneous or homogeneous catalysts; electrochemical reduction of CO2 to methanol; and CO₂ conversion using photocatalysis. The main advantages and disadvantages of each method, the mechanisms of CO₂ conversion taking into account the features of each type of catalysis, and the main approaches to the efficient catalysts are discussed.
The bibliography includes 542 references.