Li Chifeng, Gu Chen, Yamaguchi Kazuya, Suzuki Kosuke
Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Nanoscale. 2023 Sep 21;15(36):15038-15042. doi: 10.1039/d3nr03978a.
Photocatalytic polymer degradation has been recognized as a promising solution to the global disposal of waste plastics. In this work, we revealed that various polyesters and polyethers were efficiently degraded in the presence of a polyoxometalate photocatalyst, specifically, decatungstate ([WO], W10). A catalytic amount of W10 initiated the degradation of various polyesters and polyethers under photo-irradiation with a xenon lamp ( > 350 nm) using O (1 atm) as the oxidant in acetonitrile or water. Moreover, this system can promote polymer degradation even under sunlight. The degradation efficiency, assessed from the degradation rate ( - )/ (%) (where is the before the reaction), of W10 was notably higher than those of previously reported photocatalysts such as titanium oxide, other polyoxometalates, organometallic compounds, and organic dyes.
