Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Chemical Society Reviews 47 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023
Article Tier 2

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.

2023
Article Tier 2

Comprehensive Insights into Photoreforming of Waste Plastics for Hydrogen Production

This review examines photocatalytic "photoreforming" — a solar-powered process that breaks down waste plastics while simultaneously generating hydrogen fuel and useful chemical byproducts. Recent advances in catalyst design, including semiconductor materials and metal-organic frameworks, are analyzed alongside factors like light intensity and pH that affect hydrogen output. This dual-purpose approach could help address both the global plastic waste crisis and the need for clean energy simultaneously.

2025 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Solar RRL
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Journal of environmental chemical engineering 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Visible-Light-DrivenPhotocatalytic Hydrogen Productionfrom Polystyrene Nanoplastics Using Pd/TiO2 Nanoparticles

Researchers developed a palladium-modified titanium dioxide photocatalyst that degrades polystyrene nanoplastics under visible light while simultaneously producing green hydrogen, finding that the plastic itself was necessary as a fuel source for hydrogen evolution.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Recovering hydrogen from PS, LDPE and HDPE microplastics via UV-driven photolysis and TiO2-based photocatalysis

Scientists used UV light — both direct photolysis and titanium dioxide photocatalysis — to break down polystyrene, LDPE, and HDPE microplastics and capture the released hydrogen gas as a potential clean fuel. The dataset documents hydrogen yields and conditions across the different plastic types and treatment methods. This approach could offer a dual benefit: destroying plastic waste while generating renewable hydrogen energy.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Hydrogen Generation from PS and PE Microplastics via UV Photocatalysis

Scientists explored whether UV light—with and without a titanium dioxide photocatalyst—could break down polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics while simultaneously generating hydrogen gas, effectively converting plastic pollution into a clean fuel. Overall degradation rates remain low and practical barriers (particle settling, light penetration) are significant, but the study maps the thermodynamic and chemical conditions that favor reactivity. This dual-purpose approach—pollution remediation plus energy recovery—is an intriguing direction for future research if efficiency can be improved.

2026
Article Tier 2

Systemically Understanding Aqueous Photocatalytic Upgrading of Microplastic to Fuels

This review examined photocatalytic methods for converting microplastics into valuable fuels in water, summarizing advances in reactants, pretreatments, catalysts, and reactor design while highlighting the need for improved pretreatment processes to enhance efficiency and selectivity.

2023 Solar RRL 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of the Controlled Periodic Illumination (CPI) for Enhancing the Photonic Efficiency of a Photocatalytic System

Not relevant to microplastics — this is a photochemistry study investigating how periodically pulsed (rather than continuous) light irradiation can improve the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions at semiconductor surfaces for pollutant degradation and hydrogen production.

2024 ChemCatChem 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of Microplastic Residuals in Water by Visible Light Photocatalysis

Researchers demonstrated that zinc oxide-based photocatalysts activated by visible light can degrade low-density polyethylene microplastic residues in water. This photocatalytic approach could offer an energy-efficient method for reducing microplastic contamination in aquatic environments.

2018 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 94 citations
Article Tier 2

The current status of hydrogen energy: an overview

This review covers the current state of hydrogen energy as a clean fuel alternative, including production methods, storage, and transportation. While not directly related to microplastics, the shift away from fossil fuels to hydrogen energy could reduce the production of petroleum-based plastics, which are the primary source of microplastic pollution.

2023 RSC Advances 183 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxygen Vacancies Defective La2Ti2O7 Nanosheets Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Hydrogen Evolution under Visible Light Irradiation

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this paper develops oxygen-vacancy-engineered lanthanum titanate nanosheets to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light, a materials chemistry and clean energy topic.

2023 Molecules 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Photocatalytic Removal of Polyester Polyurethane, and Polyethylene Microplastics via ZnO-Fe-Mg-C Nanocomposite to H2

Scientists created a zinc oxide-based nanocomposite catalyst that can break down polyester, polyurethane, and polyethylene microplastics under light, and simultaneously convert them into hydrogen gas. This dual function — destroying plastic pollution while generating a clean fuel — represents a potentially valuable approach to turning a major environmental problem into a usable energy resource.

2024 International Journal of Applied Sciences & Development 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Building 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.

2022 EcoMat 41 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Small 19 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2022 Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 143 citations
Article Tier 2

A Solar to Chemical Strategy: Green Hydrogen as a Means, Not an End

This paper is not about microplastics — it reviews photocatalytic approaches for producing green hydrogen and commodity chemicals (ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, methanol) from sunlight and water as part of decarbonizing the chemical industry.

2023 Global Challenges 12 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 ACS symposium series
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Environmental science and pollution research international
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Sustainability of Photodegradation and Photocatalysis for Wastewater Reuse in an Agricultural Resilience Context

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this review evaluates photodegradation and photocatalysis technologies for purifying wastewater for agricultural reuse, without a focus on microplastic removal.

2023 Water 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Countering microplastics pollution with photocatalysis: Challenge and prospects

This review summarized the use of photocatalysis for degrading microplastics, covering catalyst types, reaction mechanisms, and operational parameters, and discussing challenges including the stability of highly polymerized plastics and prospects for scaling photocatalytic treatment to address environmental microplastic pollution.

2023 Progress in Natural Science Materials International 26 citations