Sustainable Treatment of Plastic Wastes with Photocatalytic Technologies: A Review

Plastic waste pollution has been widely recognized as one of the most severe and pressing environmental challenges of our time, posing significant threats to ecosystem stability and human health. The transformation of plastic waste into high-value chemicals and clean energy via photocatalytic reforming technology is increasingly regarded as a promising and sustainable alternative pathway, offering dual benefits of resource recovery and environmental remediation. This review first provides an overview of the current state of research on plastic waste management. It then systematically summarizes recent representative advances in the coupling of plastic upcycling with photocatalytic technologies, with a particular focus on the potential of plastics as carbon sources in both photodegradation and photosynthetic transformation pathways, highlighting their value and future prospects. Finally, this review outlines the key scientific challenges that urgently need to be addressed in the field of photocatalytic conversion of plastic waste, and, in light of emerging research trends, proposes several promising directions for future investigation along with the authors’ perspectives. It is hoped that these insights will provide useful guidance and inspiration for the continued advancement of this field.