Plastics are omnipresent materials of the modern economy, combining unparalleled applicational use with low cost. While integral to the economy, these polymeric materials have significant economic and environmental drawbacks as they lack sustainable end-of-life solutions. With global plastic production reaching over 400 million metric tons per year, efficient ways to deal with this waste are required. Catalytic hydrogenolysis is a promising way to chemically recycle waste polyethylene into a range of diesel to lubricant region products. With the merits of low cost and robust durability, metal oxides have been integral in the revolution of the petroleum, chemical, and environmental industries. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a state-of-the-art catalytic material in which the catalytic ZrO2 nanoparticles are placed in between two planar mesoporous shells. The resulting catalyst is highly active towards the hydrogenolysis of polyethylene. Activity in C–C bond cleavage and selectivity of products were compared to other ZrO2-based materials and Pt nanoparticles to showcase the benefits of the design. Furthermore, plausible C–C bond cleavage routes catalyzed by ZrO2 were probed using computational and spectroscopical methods.

Nano-ZrO2 localized within a mesoporous architecture catalyzes selective hydrogenolysis of polyethylene

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.