The huge amount of plastic wastes has become a pressing global environmental problem, leading to severe environmental pollution and resource depletion through conventional downcycling technologies like incineration and landfilling. In contrast, selective upcycling of various plastics offers a promising solution for converting waste plastics into valuable products. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in innovative catalytic technologies, including thermocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and photocatalysis. Special emphasis is placed on elucidating the reaction mechanisms, activating designated chemical bonds for high selectivity, and elaborating the above techniques in terms of reaction conditions and products. Finally, the application prospects and future development trends in plastic catalysis are discussed, providing valuable insights for realizing a sustainable circular plastic economy.
@article{arxiv.2309.08354,
title = {From Plastic Waste to Treasure: Selective Upcycling through Catalytic Technologies},
author = {Shuai Yue and Pengfei Wang and Bingnan Yu and Tao Zhang and Zhiyong Zhao and Yi Li and Sihui Zhan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.08354},
year = {2023}
}