Catalytic imidazolysis of PET plastic waste using self-assembled NbOx nanorods

Abstract

A pivotal niobium oxide-based catalyst containing self-assembled nanorod-like morphology (NbOx-NR) with distorted NbO6 species and abundant acid sites (7.397 mmol/g) was developed for efficient PET waste upcycling using imidazole. The 5 wt% NbOx-NR catalyst gave a 91% isolated yield of 1,1’-terephthaloyl bis-imidazole (TBI) monomer at 160 °C for 4 h, with promising catalyst reusability and process scalability performance.