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Plastic Upcycling via Artificial Photosynthesis: A Green Conversion From Waste to Value‐Added Chemicals
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This review examines how solar energy can drive photocatalytic conversion of plastic waste — including polyesters, polyolefins, polystyrene, and PVC — into valuable chemicals, detailing reaction mechanisms and catalyst design principles for each polymer class. Photocatalytic upcycling offers a promising pathway to reduce plastic pollution at scale while generating economic value, addressing a key bottleneck in transitioning away from single-use plastics that fragment into microplastics.
The increasingly severe challenge of global plastic pollution has spurred significant interest inphotocatalytic upcycling, a sustainable strategy which utilizes solar energy to convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals. This article systematically examines the detailed reaction mechanisms of photocatalytic plastic upcycling and elucidates the critical role of pretreatment in overcoming the intrinsic chemical inertness of polymers. Furthermore, it highlights recent advances in upcycling major plastic categories, including polyesters, polyolefins, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride, with a dedicated discussion on the design principles of high‐performance photocatalysts and their underlying reaction pathways. The discussion also extends to the systematic evaluation of strategies for upgrading mixed plastics, aiming to establish a theoretical foundation for enhancing conversion efficiency and scalability. Finally, the emerging bottlenecks to industrialization are identified, and prospects for future development are proposed.
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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.
Photocatalytic Upcycling of Different Types of Plastic Wastes: A Mini Review
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This mini-review covers recent advances in photocatalytic upcycling of diverse plastic types—including polyolefins, polyesters, and other common polymers—using light-driven chemical reactions that convert plastic waste into value-added chemicals or fuels. The authors summarize the fundamental principles of photocatalytic plastic deconstruction and identify key challenges in achieving scalable, efficient, and selective plastic conversion processes.
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.
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: Mechanism, Integrating Modus, and Selectivity
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This review examines how photocatalysis, a process that uses light energy to drive chemical reactions, can transform plastic waste into useful products under mild and environmentally friendly conditions. Researchers compared photocatalytic approaches with other methods like heat-based and electrical catalysis, and explored how different experimental setups influence what end products are created. The study suggests that photocatalytic upcycling of plastics is a promising green technology, though challenges remain in improving efficiency and selectivity.
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