Visible-light-driven photoreforming of poly(ethylene terephthalate) plastics via carbon nitride porous microtubes

Abstract

It is highly desirable but challenging to realize efficient photoreforming of plastic waste over metal-free semiconductors. Here, we synthesized metal-free carbon nitride porous microtube (CN_xPM) photocatalysts by carrying out a pyrolysis of the supramolecular assembly formed by the self-assembly of L-arginine (L-Arg) and melamine, the modification of L-Arg rationally engineering the microstructure and electronic structure of the CN_xPM system for efficient visible-light-driven photoreforming of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) to hydrogen (H₂) and high-value chemicals. In particular, the amount of formate converted from PET substrate under visible light was highest in metal-free semiconductors without any co-catalyst reported so far, presenting the first example of visible-light-driven photoreforming of PET over a completely metal-free single-component semiconductor without any co-catalyst.