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Advanced Catalytic Strategies for Plastic Depolymerization: Mechanistic Insights, Catalyst Engineering, and Sustainable Upcycling Pathways
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Researchers reviewed the full landscape of catalytic plastic depolymerization strategies — homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalytic, photocatalytic, and pyrocatalytic — assessing how nanostructured materials, metal-organic frameworks, enzyme engineering, and emerging plasma or electrocatalytic methods can convert waste polymers into reusable monomers and fuels.
The exponential rise in plastic production and consumption has resulted in the accumulation of persistent polymeric waste, posing severe environmental and ecological challenges. Global plastic generation exceeds 400 million tonnes annually, with dominant materials including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). Advanced catalytic depolymerization has emerged as a sustainable strategy to convert plastic waste into valuable monomers, fuels, and chemical intermediates. This review provides a comprehensive and expanded analysis of catalytic depolymerization approaches, including homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalytic, photocatalytic, and pyrocatalytic methods. Mechanistic pathways, catalyst design strategies, and reaction optimization are discussed in detail. The role of nanostructured materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), enzyme engineering, and hybrid catalytic systems is critically evaluated. Emerging technologies such as plasma-assisted catalysis and electrocatalysis are also explored for their potential in energy-efficient plastic valorization. The integration of these catalytic technologies is essential for advancing circular economy models and mitigating global plastic pollution.
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Advanced Catalytic Strategies for Plastic Depolymerization: Mechanistic Insights, Catalyst Engineering, and Sustainable Upcycling Pathways
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Researchers reviewed catalytic approaches to breaking down plastic waste — including homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalytic, photocatalytic, and plasma-assisted methods — cataloguing the mechanistic pathways, catalyst design strategies, and emerging technologies needed to convert polyethylene, polystyrene, PET, and polypropylene into reusable monomers and fuels.
Catalysis for the Upcycling of Polymers
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This review surveys catalytic strategies — including heterogeneous, biocatalytic, and electrochemical approaches — for breaking down waste plastics into high-value chemicals and raw materials, presenting an overview of how these upcycling technologies address the growing challenge of plastic waste disposal and resource recovery.
The Role of Catalysts in Waste Polymer Upcycling: Recent Developments and Future Trends
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Researchers reviewed recent advances in catalyst-driven chemical recycling and upcycling of synthetic and natural polymers, highlighting how tailored catalysts enable selective depolymerization into monomers or high-value chemicals, opening pathways to circular plastic economies beyond mechanical recycling.
Valorisation of plastic waste via metal-catalysed depolymerisation
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This review covers metal-catalysed depolymerisation approaches for recycling and upcycling waste plastics back into monomers or value-added chemicals, highlighting recent advances in catalyst design that improve selectivity and yield for common polymer types.
Chemoenzymatic cascade depolymerization of plastics
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This study develops a chemoenzymatic cascade process that combines chemical and enzymatic steps to depolymerize plastics more efficiently than either approach alone. The method leverages engineered enzymes alongside chemical catalysts to break polymer chains into recoverable monomers under mild conditions. This hybrid strategy shows promise for improving the economics and scalability of enzymatic plastic recycling.
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