Carbon dioxide and sunlight are two natural resources that are available in abundance within the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a very useful feedstock for hydrogenation reactions to produce green fuels. Photothermal CO₂ hydrogenation reactions are gaining interest as it utilizes solar energy to generate thermal energy to drive the endothermic reaction. Moreover, both photochemical and thermochemical routes occur during the photothermal reaction, which is reported to further enhance production of hydrocarbons. This review is focusing on the reactor technologies utilized for photothermal CO₂ hydrogenation. In order to establish the mechanisms of photothermal catalysis, the definition and overview of thermal catalysis, photocatalysis and photothermal catalysis are thoroughly reviewed. The specific role of heat and light for activating CO₂ molecules has been specifically deliberated. The photothermal catalysis is described as the generation of heat via photo-to-thermal effects and coupling of solar energy with additional heating. Different operating parameters such as type of feed, temperature and light source are considered to investigate their effects on the photoreactor efficiency for the photothermal reactions. Finally, various reactor design considerations, challenges and limitations for photothermal hydrogenation reaction are critically discussed.

二氧化碳和阳光是地球大气中丰富的两种自然资源。二氧化碳是用于生产绿色燃料的加氢反应的非常有用的原料。光热 CO ₂加氢反应越来越受到关注，因为它利用太阳能产生热能来驱动吸热反应。此外，光热反应过程中同时发生光化学和热化学途径，据报道，这可进一步提高碳氢化合物的产量。本综述重点关注用于光热 CO ₂的反应器技术氢化。为了建立光热催化的机理，对热催化、光催化和光热催化的定义和概述进行了全面的回顾。热和光在激活 CO ₂分子方面的具体作用已经过专门研究。光热催化被描述为通过光热效应和太阳能与额外加热的耦合产生热量。考虑不同的操作参数，如进料类型、温度和光源，以研究它们对光热反应光反应器效率的影响。最后，批判性地讨论了光热加氢反应的各种反应器设计考虑、挑战和限制。