Synergistic Catalysis for Recycling and Upcycling of Plastics

The management of waste plastics is a critical challenge due to their chemical stability, high production volume, low economic value, and short lifespan. Currently, only a small fraction of plastic waste is mechanically recycled, while most are incinerated, landfilled, or released into the environment, exacerbating pollution. Given their potential as energy-rich carbon resources, chemical valorization has gained increasing attention. A key challenge in plastic chemical recycling lies in the selective activation and cleavage of C–C, C–O, C–N, and C–Cl bonds within polymeric macromolecules. The whole cleavage process involving substrate adsorption, H2/O2 dissociation, bond activation-cleavage, intermediate saturation and product desorption usually requires synergistic catalysis between two or more different active sites. Understanding these cooperative catalytic mechanisms is crucial for optimizing catalyst design and reaction pathways. It integrates insights from molecular-level catalysis, active site engineering, and mechanistic studies of tandem catalysis systems, providing a comprehensive understanding of reaction networks and pathways that enable precise bond activation and cleavage using multifunctional catalysts.