Synthetic polymers are ubiquitous and critical to the function of modern life. However, the ubiquity of polymers has resulted in an enormous and growing amount of polymer waste, which has a long lifetime in the environment and is inefficient to recycle. Polymer waste is both a threat to the environment and economy, and an untapped resource of energy-rich hydrocarbons. If the large macromolecules that make polymers could be chemically transformed or “upcycled” into value-added chemicals, rather than disposed of as waste or downcycled into lower grade plastics, the energy and value put into the polymers could be reclaimed and turned into new applications. Here, we focus on developing efficient and innovative catalytic materials for converting waste polymers into more valuable products in a selective manner – catalytic upcycling. Novel approaches are being explored where the selective catalytic conversion of waste polymers is achieved by designing supported metal catalysts with spatially organized sites. These sites cleave hydrocarbon polymers into relatively uniform fragments through interactions of the polymer macromolecules with the spatially organized metal catalysts. Spatially uniform rather than randomly distributed catalysts that efficiently convert waste polymers into new high-value carbon feedstocks will be discussed.

Catalytic upcycling of waste polymers by supported metal catalysts

2019 Fall National Meeting

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