Recent developments in lead and lead-free halide perovskite nanostructures towards photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

Perovskite materials have been widely considered as emerging photocatalysts for CO₂ reduction due to their extraordinary physicochemical and optical properties. Perovskites offer a wide range of benefits compared to conventional semiconductors, including tunable bandgap, high surface energy, high charge carrier lifetime, and flexible crystal structure, making them ideal for high-performance photocatalytic CO₂ reduction. Notably, defect-induced perovskites, for example, crystallographic defects in perovskites, have given excellent opportunities to tune perovskites’ catalytic properties. Recently, lead (Pb) halide perovskite and their composites or heterojunction with other semiconductors, metal nanoparticles (NPs), metal complexes, graphene, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been well established for CO₂ conversion. Besides, various halide perovskites have come under focus to avoid the toxicity of lead-based materials. Therefore, we reviewed the recent progress made by Pb and Pb-free halide perovskites in photo-assisted CO₂ reduction into useful chemicals. We also discussed the importance of various factors like change in solvent, structure defects, and compositions in the fabrication of halide perovskites to efficiently convert CO₂ into value-added products.