Experimental and Theoretical Insights into Atomically Dispersed Cu Catalysts for CO ₂ Reduction Reaction to High‐Value Products

ABSTRACT Atomically dispersed copper (AD Cu) catalysts are attractive due to their distinctive electronic structure, high atomic utilization, and excellent catalytic performance for the catalytic transformation of CO 2 . This review systematically reviewed the current advances in the carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) on AD Cu catalysts, including single‐atom Cu catalysts (SAC‐Cu), Cu‐based dual‐atom catalysts (DAC‐Cu), Cu‐based single cluster catalysts (SCC‐Cu), and single‐atom + cluster Cu catalysts (SAC+SCC‐Cu). First, the mechanisms of the CO 2 RR in electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and thermocatalysis are briefly presented. Second, recent advances in the CO 2 RR on AD Cu in electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and thermocatalysis are systematically summarized. Third, new novel catalysts are proposed to design CO 2 RR, including surface frustrated Lewis pairs (SFLP), single‐atom‐frustrated Lewis pairs (SA‐FLPs), single‐cluster‐frustrated Lewis pairs (SC‐FLPs), and integrative catalytic pairs (ICPs). Finally, this review discusses the challenges and future perspectives for AD Cu catalysts in sustainable applications.