Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

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.

2019 Journal of the American Chemical Society 632 citations
Article Tier 2

Conversion of Polyethylene to Low-Molecular-Weight Oil Products at Moderate Temperatures Using Nickel/Zeolite Nanocatalysts

Incorporating small nickel nanoparticles into zeolite catalysts allowed polyethylene — the world's most widely used plastic — to be broken down into useful low-molecular-weight oils at 350 °C, compared to the 400 °C required without a catalyst. This lower-temperature catalytic process offers a more energy-efficient route to upcycling plastic waste and reducing microplastic pollution from discarded packaging.

2024 Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Isolated Ni atoms enable alkali-free photoreforming of waste polylactic acid plastic

Researchers designed a nickel-based catalyst that can break down polylactic acid (PLA) plastic waste using sunlight, converting it into hydrogen fuel and pyruvic acid without needing harsh chemicals. Although PLA is marketed as biodegradable, this solar-powered recycling approach offers a cleaner and more valuable end-of-life option to prevent PLA from degrading into microplastics in the environment.

2025 Nature Communications 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Dual-Doped Nickel Sulfide for Electro-Upgrading Polyethylene Terephthalate into Valuable Chemicals and Hydrogen Fuel

Researchers developed a catalyst that can convert PET plastic waste into valuable chemicals and clean hydrogen fuel using electricity. By doping nickel sulfide with cobalt and chloride, they achieved high efficiency and selectivity in breaking down a key PET building block. The study demonstrates a promising approach for upcycling plastic waste into useful products rather than sending it to landfills.

2023 Nano-Micro Letters 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate to commodity chemicals and H2 fuel

Researchers developed an electrocatalytic process that breaks down waste PET plastic (the kind used in water bottles) into valuable chemicals and clean hydrogen fuel using a specially designed nickel-cobalt catalyst. The process achieved high efficiency at industrial-scale current densities, offering a potentially profitable way to recycle plastic waste into useful products.

2021 Nature Communications 678 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Molecules 22 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 RSC Advances 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Upcycling Waste Plastics into Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites via NiCo2O4 Catalytic Pyrolysis

Researchers used catalytic pyrolysis — heating plastic waste with metal catalysts — to convert post-consumer plastics into carbon nanotube composites, a high-value industrial material. Bimetallic nickel-cobalt catalysts produced the best results. This approach could help valorize plastic waste while reducing the volumes that end up in the environment as microplastic pollution.

2021 Catalysts 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Catalytic transformation of microplastics to functional carbon for catalytic peroxymonosulfate activation: Conversion mechanism and defect of scavenging

Researchers developed a method to convert high-density polyethylene plastic waste into functional carbon materials that can activate peroxymonosulfate to break down organic pollutants in water. Using a salt template-based approach with nickel chloride, they produced carbon nanosheets with high catalytic efficiency. The study demonstrates a promising approach for upcycling plastic waste into useful water purification catalysts.

2023 Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Electro-upcycling of PET plastic coupled with hydrogen production using the NiCe@NiTe electrocatalyst

Researchers coupled electrochemical PET plastic degradation with hydrogen production using a nickel-cerium telluride electrocatalyst, demonstrating that PET microplastics can be simultaneously upcycled into value-added chemicals while generating clean hydrogen fuel.

2025 Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in catalysis for plastic resource utilization

This review examines catalytic strategies for converting plastic waste into value-added products and fuels, addressing how catalysis can improve the efficiency and selectivity of plastic valorization processes. The findings point to catalysis as essential for making plastic recycling and upcycling economically viable.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 19 citations
Article Tier 2

H2 Production from Real Wastes of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polylactic Acid using CNx/Ni2P Nanocatalyst

Researchers developed a photocatalytic process using a novel nanocatalyst to convert real plastic waste from PET bottles and PLA bioplastics into hydrogen gas. The process achieved maximum hydrogen yields of 124 and 267 micromol per gram for PET and PLA respectively, offering a dual benefit of plastic waste valorization and clean energy production.

2023 International Journal of Clinical Case Reports and Reviews 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Progress in Low-Cost Catalysts for Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste to Fuels

This review evaluated low-cost catalysts — including zeolites, clays, and bimetallic materials — for the pyrolytic conversion of plastic waste into fuel, comparing their effects on product yield and quality and highlighting promising candidates for scaling up plastic-to-fuel processes.

2021 Catalysts 110 citations
Article Tier 2

Trash to treasure: electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastic to value-added products by Mn0.1Ni0.9Co2O4-δ RSFs spinel

Researchers developed an electrocatalytic method using Mn0.1Ni0.9Co2O4 spinel catalysts to upcycle PET microplastics into valuable chemicals including formate, terephthalic acid, and potassium sulfate, offering a cost-effective strategy for converting plastic waste into useful products.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 58 citations
Article Tier 2

Materials challenges and opportunities to address growing micro/nanoplastics pollution: a review of thermochemical upcycling

This review examined thermochemical upcycling technologies including pyrolysis, gasification, and liquefaction as approaches to valorize micro- and nanoplastic waste, assessing the material challenges and opportunities for converting environmental plastic pollution into useful fuels or chemical feedstocks.

2022 Materials Today Sustainability 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Catalyst Design and Engineering for Enhanced Microplastic Degradation and Upcycling - A Review

This review covers advances in catalyst design for microplastic degradation and upcycling, examining photocatalytic, Fenton-based, and enzymatic approaches. It evaluates the performance, scalability, and selectivity of different catalyst systems and discusses their potential for converting MP waste into useful chemical feedstocks.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Exploration of operating conditions in the direct aqueous-phase reforming of plastics

This study explored direct aqueous-phase reforming of polyethylene terephthalate plastic as a way to produce hydrogen and alkanes, testing the effects of temperature, pH, and catalyst type. Platinum catalysts at 220 degrees Celsius produced up to 10 mmol of hydrogen per gram of plastic in 8-hour reactions.

2024 Fuel 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficiency of Hybrid Materials for Photocatalytic Degradation of Micro‐ and Nano‐Plastics

Researchers reviewed how hybrid materials — combinations of multiple substances engineered at the nanoscale — can serve as highly effective photocatalysts to break down microplastics and nanoplastics using light energy. These multi-functional materials improve electron separation and reaction efficiency compared to single-component catalysts, representing a promising technological pathway for removing persistent plastic particles from the environment.

2025
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

High-selective platinum and palladium capture using polyamide 6: A potent material for platinum group metals’ recovery from spent car catalytic converter

Researchers demonstrated that polyamide 6 — a common microplastic pollutant — can selectively recover platinum and palladium from solution at rates of roughly 90% and 70% respectively without chemical modification, suggesting a dual-purpose approach that recycles a plastic waste material while recovering scarce precious metals from spent catalytic converters.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 5 citations
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

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.

2025 ACS Nano 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Excavating the Potential of Photo‐ and Electroupcycling Platforms Toward a Sustainable Future for Waste Plastics

This review examines photo- and electrocatalytic methods for breaking down waste plastics into valuable small-molecule chemicals, offering a more efficient and less polluting alternative to conventional recycling. By converting plastic polymers rather than simply remelting or landfilling them, these upcycling pathways could help reduce the volume of plastic waste that eventually fragments into environmental microplastics.

2023 Small Science 9 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