Issue 14, 2024

Recent advances in oxidative degradation of plastics

Abstract

Oxidative degradation is a powerful method to degrade plastics into oligomers and small oxidized products. While thermal energy has been conventionally employed as an external stimulus, recent advances in photochemistry have enabled photocatalytic oxidative degradation of polymers under mild conditions. This tutorial review presents an overview of oxidative degradation, from its earliest examples to emerging strategies. This review briefly discusses the motivation and the development of thermal oxidative degradation of polymers with a focus on underlying mechanisms. Then, we will examine modern studies primarily relevant to catalytic thermal oxidative degradation and photocatalytic oxidative degradation. Lastly, we highlight some unique studies using unconventional approaches for oxidative polymer degradation, such as electrochemistry.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances in oxidative degradation of plastics

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
30 Apr 2024
First published
17 Jun 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024,53, 7309-7327

Recent advances in oxidative degradation of plastics

S. Oh and E. E. Stache, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, 53, 7309 DOI: 10.1039/D4CS00407H

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