Recent advances in modular nuclear reactors could facilitate the use of irradiation to produce fuels and chemicals using anthropogenic CO₂. One of the challenges in CO₂ conversion reactions is the stability or low reactivity of CO₂. Chemical activation of CO₂ via thermochemical or electrochemical approaches contributes to the high energy intensity of CO₂ conversion reactions. Activation of the CO₂ molecule via irradiation at significantly lower temperatures may now allow us to use heterogeneous CO₂-bearing waste gas streams and low-carbon emitting nuclear energy resources to produce high value chemicals and fuels in a distributed manner. In this paper, we review the radiolytic behavior of CO₂ and particularly, irradiation pathways relevant for producing fuels and chemicals using CO₂, technological advances and research directions for advancing radiolytic conversion of CO₂ to chemicals and fuels.

模块化核反应堆的最新进展可以促进利用辐射来利用人为产生的CO ₂生产燃料和化学物质。之一在CO挑战₂转化反应是CO的稳定性或反应性低₂。通过热化学或电化学方法对CO _2的化学活化有助于CO ₂转化反应的高能量强度。现在，通过在较低的温度下辐射激活CO ₂分子可能使我们能够使用非均质的CO ₂含废气流和低碳排放的核能资源，以分布式方式生产高价值的化学品和燃料。在本文中，我们回顾了CO ₂的辐射行为，特别是与使用CO ₂生产燃料和化学品有关的辐射途径，技术进步以及促进CO ₂辐射转化为化学和燃料的研究方向。