CO2conversionviaphotocatalysisisapotentialsolutiontoaddressglobalwarmingandenergyshortage.PhotocatalysiscandirectlyutilizetheinexhaustiblesunlightasanenergysourcetocatalyzethereductionofCO2tousefulsolarfuelssuchasCO,CH4,CH3OH,andC2H5OH.Amongstudiedformulations,CubasedphotocatalystsarethemostattractiveforCO2conversionbecausetheCu-basedphotocatalystsarelow-costandabundancecomparingnoblemetal-basedcatalysts.Inthisliteraturereview,acomprehensivesummaryofrecentprogressonCu-basedphotocatalystsforCO2conversion,whichincludesmetalliccopper,copperalloynanoparticles（NPs）,copperoxides,andcoppersulfidesphotocatalysts,canbefound.Thisreviewalsoincludedadetaileddiscussiononthecorrelationsofmorphology,structure,andperformanceforeachtypeofCu-basedcatalysts.Thereactionmechanismsandpossiblepathwaysforproductionsofvarioussolarfuelswereanalyzed,whichprovideinsightintothenatureofpotentialactivesitesforthecatalysts.Finally,thecurrentchallengesandperspectivefutureresearchdirectionswereoutlined,holdingpromisetoadvanceCu-basedphotocatalystsforCO2conversionwithmuch-enhancedenergyconversionefficiencyandproductionrates.
