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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Comprehensive Insights into Photoreforming of Waste Plastics for Hydrogen Production
ClearBuilding a bridge from solid wastes to solar fuels and chemicals via artificial photosynthesis
This review examined photoreforming (PR) as a process that converts solid plastic and other waste materials into hydrogen fuel and value-added chemicals using solar energy, combining waste remediation with clean fuel production. The authors assessed photocatalyst design strategies that enable efficient PR of diverse waste streams including polyethylene and polypropylene.
Mini-review on remediation of plastic pollution through photoreforming: progress, possibilities, and challenges.
This mini-review examines photoreforming — a solar-powered process that converts plastic waste into valuable chemicals and hydrogen fuel — as a promising approach to reducing plastic pollution while generating clean energy. The authors review progress in the technology, assess remaining challenges such as efficiency and scalability, and place it in the context of other plastic waste remediation strategies.
Photoreforming of PET and PLA microplastics for sustainable hydrogen production using TiO2 and g-C3N4 photocatalysts
Researchers used photoreforming—a light-driven process—to break down PET and PLA microplastics while simultaneously generating hydrogen gas, demonstrating a dual-benefit approach that addresses plastic pollution while producing clean energy from waste plastic.
From Plastic Waste to Green Hydrogen and Valuable Chemicals Using Sunlight and Water
This review examines how solar-powered photoreforming technology can convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals and green hydrogen using sunlight and water. Researchers found that while the approach shows significant promise as an alternative to landfilling, there is currently no standardized way to compare results across different studies. The study proposes guidelines for more consistent evaluation of photocatalyst performance to help advance this technology toward practical application.
Chemoenzymatic Photoreforming: A Sustainable Approach for Solar-fuel Generation from Plastic Feedstocks
Researchers developed a hybrid process combining enzyme pretreatment with solar-driven photoreforming to convert polyester plastic waste into clean hydrogen fuel and valuable chemicals under mild conditions. This approach offers a way to clean up plastic pollution while generating renewable energy simultaneously.
From photocatalysis to photon–phonon co-driven catalysis for methanol reforming to hydrogen and valuable by-products
This review covers hydrogen production from methanol using light-driven chemical reactions, examining new photocatalytic materials and methods. While not about microplastics directly, the clean energy technologies discussed could help reduce fossil fuel dependence and the plastic production that drives microplastic pollution.
Photoreforming of Microplastics: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Environmental Remediation
This review explores photoreforming, a technology that uses sunlight to break down microplastics and convert them into useful chemicals like hydrogen fuel. The process could offer a sustainable way to clean up microplastic pollution while producing valuable products, though it is still in the early research stage. If scaled up, this approach could help reduce the environmental and health risks of microplastics by actually eliminating them rather than just filtering them out of water.
Photocatalytic Upcycling of Plastic Waste: Mechanism, Integrating Modus, and Selectivity
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.
Visible Light Photocatalysis: Green Hydrogen Production
Not relevant to microplastics — this paper describes strategies for using visible-light photocatalysis to generate green hydrogen fuel from organic compounds and cellulose waste, an energy research topic unrelated to microplastic pollution.
Chemoenzymatic Photoreforming: A Sustainable Approach for Solar Fuel Generation from Plastic Feedstocks
Researchers developed a process combining enzyme treatment with solar-powered chemistry to break down polyester plastics into clean hydrogen fuel and valuable chemicals. The enzymatic step first breaks the plastic into smaller molecules under mild conditions, and then sunlight drives the conversion into useful products. The study demonstrates a sustainable way to upcycle plastic waste, including nanoplastics, using renewable energy rather than harsh industrial processes.
In-situ formation of Ag2O in metal-organic framework for light-driven upcycling of microplastics coupled with hydrogen production
Researchers developed a light-activated catalyst that can break down microplastics while simultaneously producing hydrogen gas as a clean energy byproduct, using a novel metal-organic framework material that converts plastic pollution into useful chemicals — offering a potential two-in-one solution for plastic waste and energy production.
Systemically Understanding Aqueous Photocatalytic Upgrading of Microplastic to Fuels
This review examines photocatalytic methods for converting microplastic waste into renewable fuels using solar energy. These approaches could transform plastic pollutants into useful energy sources rather than allowing them to accumulate in the environment and food chain.
Photoreforming of Nonrecyclable Plastic Waste over a Carbon Nitride/Nickel Phosphide Catalyst
A carbon nitride/nickel phosphide photocatalyst was used to photoreform non-recyclable PET and PLA plastic waste at ambient temperature, producing clean hydrogen fuel and organic chemicals without precious metals or toxic components. The study demonstrates a low-energy, scalable approach to converting plastic waste into valuable chemical feedstocks using sunlight.
Bimetallic defect-engineered CoMoMOF modulates CdZnS for efficient hydrogen production from water/microplastic waste
Researchers created a novel photocatalyst combining metal-defect-engineered materials to simultaneously generate hydrogen fuel and break down PET plastic waste using light energy. The system produced significantly more hydrogen using PET microplastics as a feedstock compared to water alone, suggesting plastic waste could serve as a raw material for clean energy production. This "waste to fuel" approach could address both the plastic pollution crisis and the energy transition, though it remains at an early laboratory stage.
Crucial role of pre-treatment in plastic photoreforming for precision upcycling
Researchers reviewed how pre-treating plastic waste before photoreforming — a process that uses sunlight to convert plastic into useful chemicals — dramatically affects what products are made and how efficiently. Understanding how polymer structure and preparation influence the reaction is key to turning plastic waste into valuable resources sustainably.
State of the art in the photochemical degradation of (micro)plastics: from fundamental principles to catalysts and applications
This review summarizes research on the photochemical degradation of plastics and microplastics into value-added products and intermediates via photocatalysis. The study covers fundamental principles and catalytic approaches for breaking down plastic pollutants that are otherwise difficult to degrade in the environment.
Recent developments in catalytic materials and reactors for the catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste into hydrogen: a critical review with a focus on the circular economy
This review examines recent developments in catalytic materials and reactor designs for converting plastic waste into hydrogen through pyrolysis. The study discusses how catalyst-assisted pyrolysis can transform plastic waste into valuable hydrogen fuel, contributing to circular economy goals while addressing the growing plastic pollution problem.
From waste to energy - Photocatalytic anaerobic degradation of microplastics to generate hydrogen
Researchers demonstrated that microplastic particles can serve as solid hydrogen sources in anaerobic photocatalytic reactions using titanium dioxide as a catalyst. This proof-of-concept converts plastic waste into clean hydrogen fuel while potentially reducing environmental microplastic loads.
Artificial photosynthesis bringing new vigor into plastic wastes
This review explores how artificial photosynthesis, which uses sunlight to drive chemical reactions, can convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals and fuels. The approach works under mild conditions and offers an energy-saving alternative to traditional plastic disposal methods like landfilling or incineration. While still in early stages, this technology could help address both plastic pollution and the need for sustainable carbon resources.
New Progress in Plastic Degradation and Conversion by Photocatalysis
This review examines advances in photocatalytic plastic degradation and conversion, covering both the plastic pollution crisis driven by microplastic formation and innovative recycling approaches including primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary methods.
Asymmetric Atomic Pt–B Dual-Site Catalyst for Efficient Photoreforming of Waste Polylactic Acid Plastics in Seawater
Researchers developed a new light-powered catalyst that can break down polylactic acid (PLA) plastic waste in seawater, converting it into useful chemicals and hydrogen fuel. The catalyst uses precisely arranged platinum and boron atoms to efficiently drive the chemical reaction. While focused on cleanup technology rather than health effects, this work offers a promising approach to reducing plastic pollution in the ocean before it breaks down into microplastics.
Nanomaterials for Advanced Photocatalytic Plastic Conversion
This review examines the use of nanomaterials for photocatalytic conversion of waste plastics into useful chemicals and fuels, highlighting approaches that use sunlight as an energy source under ambient conditions. Photocatalytic upcycling of plastic waste offers a potentially sustainable alternative to conventional thermal and chemical recycling methods.
From waste to energy - Photocatalytic anaerobic degradation of microplastics to generate hydrogen
Researchers demonstrated that microplastics can serve as a hydrogen source in photocatalytic reactions under anaerobic conditions. Using titanium dioxide as a catalyst and UV light, microplastic particles generated hydrogen gas, providing a potential route for converting plastic waste into clean energy. This proof-of-concept opens new possibilities for treating microplastic waste while producing renewable fuel.
Solar-driven hydrogen evolution in alkaline seawater over earth-abundant g-C3N4/CuFeO2 heterojunction photocatalyst using microplastic as a feedstock
Researchers developed an earth-abundant photocatalyst that can produce hydrogen fuel by breaking down polyester microplastics using solar energy and seawater. The study demonstrates that this novel material achieved over 60-fold enhanced hydrogen production compared to its individual components, suggesting a promising approach for simultaneously addressing plastic pollution and sustainable energy generation.