Understanding Reaction Mechanism in Photon-Assisted Reduction of Carbon Dioxide

Photon-assisted reduction of carbon dioxide has become an emerging field of scientific interest for utilisation of CO2, which may be helpful in overcoming energy and environment-related problems [1-6]. However, the knowledge assimilation in this area does not consider all the fundamental aspects appropriately, possibly because of the interdisciplinary nature of the research field. The nature and extent of electron transfer are crucial aspects of the reduction process. Most of the studies excluded the interfacial phenomenon across the semiconductor/ electrolyte junctions while interpreting the reaction mechanism. Through this chapter, we are trying to revisit the photophysics and photochemistry of semiconductors fundamentally, to enhance the understanding of electron transfer mechanism of the photon-assisted reduction of carbon dioxide.