Solar‐Driven CO <sub>2</sub> ‐Mediated Upcycling of Waste Plastics Into Value‐Added Syngas and Carbon Nanotubes

ABSTRACT Plastics and CO 2 are two major waste carbon resources, and their management and recycling are attracting increasing attention. CO 2 ‐mediated plastic upcycling represents a promising strategy for the simultaneous transformation of both wastes, yet it still suffers from high energy demand, low efficiency, and limited applicability to diverse plastics. Here, we report a solar‐driven photothermal strategy that enables the efficient and energy‐saving CO 2 ‐mediated reforming of various plastics, including polyolefins, polyesters, copolymers, and their mixtures, into high‐value syngas and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The process achieves a syngas yield of 165.6 mmol g cat −1 h −1 , an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional thermocatalysis. Within this system, CO 2 acts not only as an oxidant that consumes the hydrogen species released during plastic dehydrogenation, thereby enhancing efficiency and suppressing methanation but also as a carbon feedstock that directly contributes to both gaseous and solid products. This study provides a powerful solution for the valorization of complex plastic wastes and greenhouse gases and offers new insights into solar‐driven chemical transformations toward a circular carbon economy, while further optimization of the H 2 /CO ratio may expand its compatibility with specific downstream applications.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Published
2026-07-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.2880918
Primary Topic
Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Solar‐Driven CO 2 ‐Mediated Upcycling of Waste Plastics Into Value‐Added Syngas and Carbon Nanotubes

Jinxing Chen, Muhan Cao, Haoyue Yang, Yi Luo et al.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
article

Solar‐Driven CO 2 ‐Mediated Upcycling of Waste Plastics Into Value‐Added Syngas and Carbon Nanotubes

Jinxing Chen, Muhan Cao, Haoyue Yang, Yi Luo, Panpan Xu, Binglei Jiao, Qiao Zhang, Xiangjun Liu, Yu Ji, Nan Zhao, Qi Lu, Mingyu Chu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Plastics and CO 2 are two major waste carbon resources, and their management and recycling are attracting increasing attention. CO 2 ‐mediated plastic upcycling represents a promising strategy for the simultaneous transformation of both wastes, yet it still suffers from high energy demand, low efficiency, and limited applicability to diverse plastics. Here, we report a solar‐driven photothermal strategy that enables the efficient and energy‐saving CO 2 ‐mediated reforming of various plastics, including polyolefins, polyesters, copolymers, and their mixtures, into high‐value syngas and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The process achieves a syngas yield of 165.6 mmol g cat −1 h −1 , an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional thermocatalysis. Within this system, CO 2 acts not only as an oxidant that consumes the hydrogen species released during plastic dehydrogenation, thereby enhancing efficiency and suppressing methanation but also as a carbon feedstock that directly contributes to both gaseous and solid products. This study provides a powerful solution for the valorization of complex plastic wastes and greenhouse gases and offers new insights into solar‐driven chemical transformations toward a circular carbon economy, while further optimization of the H 2 /CO ratio may expand its compatibility with specific downstream applications.

Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Soochow University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
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