| Summary: | Plastic waste is disposed of in large quantities, with only a small percentage being recycled. However, plastics represent an abundant carbon resource that can be valorized into versatile, higher-value chemicals to create a more circular economy by upcycling. Photocatalysis represents an emerging approach to upcycling plastics into versatile chemicals by employing light to drive chemical reactions with lower energy intensity. In this perspective, we focus on the photocatalytic upcycling of plastics with aliphatic C–C backbones, since these plastics make up a large proportion of plastic waste but are notoriously more difficult to upcycle compared with condensation polymers. We highlight recent developments, novel photocatalysts, and innovative approaches to obtain value-added products from waste plastics. In addition, we provide mechanistic insights and discuss some remaining challenges and future research directions.
|
|---|