A review on sustainable approaches for carbon capture and utilization using nanomaterials

The rising levels of atmospheric carbon from anthropogenic activities have heightened the global need for new carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) approaches. Among emerging approaches, nanotechnology offers a versatile toolbox for developing new, sophisticated materials and processes to capture and convert CO2 into value-added products efficiently. This review presents the application of nanostructured materials, such as metal-organic frameworks, zeolites, carbon nanotubes, and graphene derivatives, to overcome the current limitations of conventional capture systems, including high energy consumption and low selectivity. As such, these nanomaterials have high surface areas, adjustable pore architectures, and functional groups that enhance adsorption and high catalytic activity for chemical, electrochemical, and photochemical CO2 conversion pathways. Particular emphasis is placed on their integration with renewable energy systems and on decentralised, sustainable carbon management. Despite all the progress, however, issues remain in material stability, scalability, cost-effective synthesis and industrial integration. By drawing on insights from materials science, catalysis, and environmental engineering, this paper highlights the game-changing potential of nanotechnology in advancing sustainable CCU solutions. © 2026 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.