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Plastic Waste Conversion by Leveraging Renewable Photo/Electro‐Catalytic Technologies
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Researchers review how renewable energy-driven technologies — photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and their combination — can convert waste plastics into valuable chemicals and fuels, offering a pathway to transform the plastic economy from a linear to a circular model.
Plastics have revolutionized our lives; however, the exponential growth of their usage has led to a global crisis. More sustainable strategies are needed to address this dilemma and transform the plastics economy from a linearity to a circular model. Herein, we systematically summarize the recent progress in renewable energy-driven plastic conversion strategies, including photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and their integration. By introducing the significant works, the design principles, mechanisms, and system regulations, we decipher and compare the various aspects of plastic conversion. These approaches show high reactivity and selectivity under environmentally benign conditions and provide alternative reaction pathways for plastic conversion. Plastic upcycling as a chemical feedstock can yield value-added chemicals and fuels, contributing to the establishment of a sustainable and circular economy. Additionally, several innovations in reaction engineering and system designs are presented. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of sustainable energy-driven plastic conversion technologies are comprehensively discussed.
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Sustainable Treatment of Plastic Wastes with Photocatalytic Technologies: A Review
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Researchers review photocatalytic technologies as a sustainable approach to plastic waste management, examining how light-driven reactions can break down plastics or convert them into valuable chemicals and clean energy, offering a dual benefit of environmental remediation and resource recovery.
Photocatalytic Upcycling of Plastic Waste Into Value‐Added Chemicals
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This review examines photocatalytic conversion of plastic waste into value-added chemicals using solar energy, comparing it to traditional methods like landfill, incineration, and thermocatalysis. Researchers analyzed how pretreatment procedures and photocatalyst selection affect solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency, proposing it as a sustainable strategy for addressing plastic waste under mild conditions.
From Plastic Waste to Treasure: Selective Upcycling through Catalytic Technologies
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Researchers review recent advances in catalytic technologies—including thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and photocatalysis—for upcycling plastic waste into valuable chemicals, highlighting how selective bond activation can convert what would otherwise be waste into high-value products.
Electrocatalytic upcycling of plastic waste: Progress, challenges, and future
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This review surveys electrocatalytic upcycling as a strategy to convert plastic waste into high-value chemicals under mild conditions, examining the mechanisms and structure-activity relationships of electrocatalysts across different plastic types and highlighting advantages over conventional incineration and landfill disposal in terms of efficiency and resource recovery.
Progress on Photo‐, Electro‐, and Photoelectro‐Catalytic Conversion of Recalcitrant Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polystyrene ‐ A Review
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This review examined photo-, electro-, and photoelectrocatalytic approaches to degrading and upcycling recalcitrant plastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene that resist conventional recycling and accumulate as micro- and nanoplastics. The authors discussed reaction mechanisms, current literature, and the developments needed to make catalytic plastic conversion technically viable at scale.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.