Abstract
Much attention has been drawn to develop efficient poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) recycling methods. Reported here is the solar-driven PET recycling coupled with H2 production with carbonized polymer dots-graphitic carbon nitride (CPDs-CN) as catalyst. PET plastic is a “greener” alternative feedstock where its hydrolytic monomer ethylene glycol is converted into high added-value chemicals, mainly including glycolic acid, glycolaldehyde and ethanol; meanwhile, H2 is produced from water splitting. The monomer terephthalic acid yield reaches 304.7 ± 17.2 μmol, exceeding the value of the catalyst-free group nearly twofold. Increased H2 production rate upon hybridization with CPDs is achieved (1034 ± 134 vs. 291 ± 35 μmol g–1 h–1, respectively). The adopted strategy allows plastic waste to be used as a valuable feedstock for the sustainable production of value-added solar chemicals and solar fuels.
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