CO₂ capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is a rare option for the large-scale use of fossil fuels in a low-carbon way, which will definitely play a part in the journey towards carbon neutrality. Within the CCUS nexus, CCU is especially interesting because these processes will establish a new “atmosphere-to-atmosphere” carbon cycle and thus indirectly offer huge potential in carbon reduction. This study focuses on the new positioning of CCUS in the carbon neutrality scenario and aims to identify potential cutting-edge/disruptive CCU technologies that may find important application opportunities during the decarbonization of the energy and industrial system. To this end, direct air capture (DAC), flexible metal-framework materials (MOFs) for CO₂ capture, integrated CO₂ capture and conversion (ICCC), and electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction (ECR) were selected, and their general introduction, the importance to carbon neutrality, and most up-to-date research progress are summarized.

A series of mesoporous NiO–Y ₂ O ₃ –Al ₂ O ₃ composite oxides with different yttrium contents were synthesized by either a one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method or impregnation for carbon dioxide reforming of methane (CRM).

A facile one-pot melting-assisted solvent-free method to synthesize mesoporous carbon and N-doped carbon with excellent CO ₂ capture properties.

Catalyst deactivation via severe carbon deposition and metal sintering is a significant obstacle to the industrialization of CO₂ reforming of methane (CRM). Previous reports are mainly focused on metal oxide supported catalysts, which were proved to be less effective in eliminating the formation of carbon deposition completely. Here, we report a facile strategy for the preparation of a highly dispersed Ni@SiO₂ nano-capsule catalyst, which features a monodisperse capsule and anchored Ni NPs in the inner porous shell. By virtue of this, carbon formation could be sterically hindered due to the sealed space for carbon formation and growth, and therefore excellent catalytic performance was achieved. Through comprehensive characterization and comparison of traditional supported catalysts as well as capsule catalysts with different architectures, the importance of a confined capsule structure in preventing carbon formation was convincingly demonstrated. Our work disclosed a morphological approach that is much more effective in preventing sintering of Ni NPs and suppressing carbon formation simultaneously, therefore shedding new light on the design and preparation of highly stable Ni-based catalysts for reforming reactions.