Catalytic carbon and hydrogen cycles in plastics chemistry

The soaring demands, production, and disposal of plastics have caused a great burden on the environment. Chemical degradation and catalytic transformation techniques are capable of decompos-ing or converting plastics into value-added chemicals, fuels, and functional nanocarbons. These techniques include thermal treat-ments, advanced oxidation, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and solvolysis. Understanding the transformation routes and destina-tions of the carbon and hydrogen elements in plastics is important for the development of advanced techniques to achieve plastic cir-cular economy. To this end, we present an overview of the recent ad-vances in carbon and hydrogen circulations by catalytic technologies in plastic chemistry. Insights will be provided to achieve material and economic sustainability via plastic recycling/upgrading toward a closed loop across energy, chemistry, and environmental sectors.

Automated summary

The increasing demands and disposal of plastics have led to environmental burdens. Chemical degradation and catalytic conversion techniques can transform plastics into valuable chemicals and fuels. Understanding the transformation routes of carbon and hydrogen elements in plastics is crucial for achieving a circular economy.