Photothermal Catalysis: An Emerging Green Approach to Upcycling Plastic Waste

Abstract

The increasingly massive accumulation of plastic waste is triggering a global pollution crisis, causing severe economic and health issues. As an effective strategy to realize synchronous environmental remediation and value‐added chemical production, the catalytic upcycling of plastics has received extensive attention. Among the upcycling approaches, the emerging photothermal catalysis outstands with features of high conversion efficiency and mild reaction conditions. Herein, the advancements of photothermal catalysis in plastic waste upcycling are reviewed for the first time. The general limitations of the traditional thermocatalytic and photocatalytic upcycling of plastics are first discussed. Subsequently, the photothermal catalytic approaches to upcycling of plastics are classified into three categories depending on the catalytic mechanism, and discussed in depth. Finally, the current challenges in the field are appraised, and several suggestions concerning the investigation of the mechanisms and practical applications for the conversion of plastics into valuable chemicals are highlighted.