Au@MoS boosted carbon nitride for selective photoreforming of plastic waster: synergistic hydrogen production and value-added chemicals generation

Combining the hydrogen production reaction with the photoreforming of plastic waste represents a key strategy for establishing a circular economy. Herein, the Au@MoS x nanoparticles were successfully modified onto carbon nitride (CN/Au@MoS x ) and employed for efficient hydrogen production, coupled with the high-selectivity upcycling of plastics into value-added products. Comprehensive characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that Au acts as an electron transfer mediator, accelerating charge migration from CN to MoS x . This facilitated the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, thereby enhancing H 2 evolution activity while preserving the high oxidation potential of holes on CN, which is favorable for plastic oxidation. Consequently, the optimal photocatalyst showed an H 2 production rate of 1.73 mmol g −1 h −1 , which was 10.5 times higher than that of CN (0.13 mmol g −1 h −1 ). Meanwhile, the liquid product achieved a selectivity of 77.9% for glycolic acid in the production of C 2 compounds, which is 3.0 times higher than that of CN alone. Therefore, this study proposes a solar-driven “waste-to-wealth” approach that converts plastic waste into clean fuels and highly selective valuable chemical products, thereby addressing plastic pollution and fossil fuel dependency. Au@MoS x nanoparticles were rationally modified on carbon nitride nanosheets. Owing to the strong electron capture effects of Au and the superior interfacial electron transfer within the heterogeneous structure, the composite achieves efficient hydrogen evolution along with highly selective upcycling of plastics into valuable chemical products.