Carbon dioxide photoconversion driven by visible-light excitation of small carbon nanoparticles in various configurations

- Aqueous suspended carbon nanoparticles harvest visible photons effectively.
- Even the bare carbon nanoparticles are photocatalytic for CO2 conversion.
- The noble metal-doped carbon nanoparticles are more effective photocatalysts.
- Carbon nanoparticles are competitive in performance to nanoscale semiconductors.