Zhao Qiang, Hu Jiaxue, Gui Zhenzheng, Chang Zhiwei, Zhang Chundong, Chen Yuhui, Huang Yong, Zhang Peng, Wang Fenfen
State Key Laboratory of Materials-oriented Chemical Engineering, School of Energy Science and Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211816, China.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Materials, Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.
ChemSusChem. 2025 Feb 1;18(3):e202401727. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202401727. Epub 2024 Nov 6.
Biodegradable polyesters, such as polylactic acid (PLA), is one of the most promising plastics with great potential to contribute to enabling a sustainable global circular economy. However, the efficient chemical upcycling of PLA plastic waste into high-value chemicals remains a grand challenge. Herein, a series of Ru/CeFeO catalysts with varying Ru loadings were developed for the catalytic amination of PLA plastic waste to alanine in the presence of ammonia. The as-prepared catalysts exhibited exceptional catalytic activity, high selectivity, and excellent recyclability, achieving an alanine yield of 70.5 % at 180 °C for 18 h, significantly surpassing previous reports. The outstanding catalytic performance can be primarily attributed to the presence of Fe species in Ru/CeFeO, which generated more oxygen vacancies, provided abundant base sites, and enhanced reducibility, therefore accelerating the reaction rate and enhancing catalytic efficiency. This study presents an alternative strategy for the sustainable chemical upcycling of PLA plastic waste into alanine and the realization of a circular economy.
可生物降解的聚酯，如聚乳酸（PLA），是最具前景的塑料之一，在推动全球可持续循环经济方面具有巨大潜力。然而，将聚乳酸塑料废料高效化学升级循环为高价值化学品仍然是一个巨大的挑战。在此，开发了一系列具有不同钌负载量的Ru/CeFeO催化剂，用于在氨存在下将聚乳酸塑料废料催化胺化制备丙氨酸。所制备的催化剂表现出优异的催化活性、高选择性和出色的可回收性，在180℃下反应18小时，丙氨酸产率达到70.5%，显著超过先前的报道。出色的催化性能主要归因于Ru/CeFeO中存在铁物种，其产生了更多的氧空位，提供了丰富的碱性位点，并增强了还原性，从而加快了反应速率并提高了催化效率。本研究为聚乳酸塑料废料可持续化学升级循环为丙氨酸以及实现循环经济提供了一种替代策略。
