Solar-driven upcycling of plastic waste using plasmonic black gold.

ABSTRACT: Plastic waste accumulation poses a pressing environmental challenge, calling for sustainable routes to convert it into value-added products under mild conditions. Conventional Lewis acid-mediated upcycling relies on hydride transfer and carbocation formation but requires ionic liquids to stabilize intermediates and sacrificial alkylating agents like isopentane to overcome thermodynamic barriers. Here, we present a solar-driven, sacrificial-agent-free approach for catalytic plastic upcycling using plasmonic black gold nanostructures. Under visible-to-NIR irradiation, black gold activates tert-butyl chloride (TBC) through combined photothermal and hot-electron driven activation, generating reactive carbocations in polymer chains while converting Al₂Cl₆ into catal

SUBMITTER: Singh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12777074 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature