Facile visible-light upcycling of diverse waste plastics using a single organocatalyst with minimal loadings

Sijing Zhang, Jingxiang Wang, Dewen Su and Xiao Xiao ()
Additional contact information
Sijing Zhang: Sichuan University
Jingxiang Wang: Sichuan University
Dewen Su: Sichuan University
Xiao Xiao: Sichuan University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The escalating plastic waste crisis stems from limitations in conventional recycling methods, which are energy-intensive and produce lower-quality materials, leaving a substantial portion unrecycled. Here, we report a versatile organo-photocatalytic upcycling method employing an easily accessible phenothiazine derivative, PTH-3CN, to selectively deconstruct a wide array of commodity polymers—including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethanes (PU), polycarbonates (PC), and other vinyl polymers—into valuable small molecules with minimal catalyst loading (as low as 500 ppm). Operating under mild conditions with visible light and ambient air, this protocol requires no additional acids or metals and adapts effectively to mixed and post-consumer plastic waste. Mechanistic analysis reveals that PTH-3CN serves as a precatalyst, decomposing into active triarylamine species that drive efficient degradation likely through a consecutive photoinduced electron transfer mechanism. This approach offers a promising, scalable route for sustainable plastic upcycling with broad applicability.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59540-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59540-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59540-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().