Integrated strategy for the synthesis of aromatic building blocks via upcycling of real-life plastic wastes

There is a high demand for aromatic compounds in petrochemical industries as well as in end-user industries. However, current syn-thesis of aromatics is entirely dependent on energy-intensive stra-tegies. At the same time, the rapid growth of plastic wastes in landfills and oceans is alarming. As a solution to both dilemmas, we report here an integrated strategy for the synthesis of lower ar-omatics such as benzene, toluene, biphenyl, and salicylic acid from real-life PS-based wastes. Additionally, four bioactive com-pounds have been synthesized. Advantageously, gram-scale trans-formations of real-life PS-based wastes have been achieved to demonstrate the practicality. Finally, detailed mechanistic investi-gations have revealed the mechanism of this upcycling strategy and clearly demonstrated the role of each reagent involved in this reaction.

Automated summary

This study presents an integrated strategy for synthesizing lower aromatics and bioactive compounds from real-life polystyrene-based wastes. Gram-scale transformations of the waste materials were achieved to demonstrate practicality, and detailed mechanistic investigations provided insights into the reaction mechanism and the role of reagents involved.