Issue 3, 2024

Enhancing the photocatalytic upcycling of polystyrene to benzoic acid: a combined computational-experimental approach for acridinium catalyst design

Abstract

Converting polystyrene into value-added oxygenated aromatic compounds is an attractive end-of-life upcycling strategy. However, identification of appropriate catalysts often involves laborious and time-consuming empirical screening. Herein, after demonstrating the feasibility of using acridinium salts for upcycling polystyrene into benzoic acid by photoredox catalysis for the first time, we applied low-cost descriptor-based combinatorial in silico screening to predict the photocatalytic performance of a family of potential candidates. Through this approach, we identified a non-intuitive fluorinated acridinium catalyst that outperforms other candidates for converting polystyrene to benzoic acid in useful yields at low catalyst loadings (≤5 mol%). In addition, this catalyst also proved effective with real-life polystyrene waste containing dyes and additives. Our study underscores the potential of computer-aided catalyst design for valorizing polymeric waste into essential chemical feedstock for a more sustainable future.

Graphical abstract: Enhancing the photocatalytic upcycling of polystyrene to benzoic acid: a combined computational-experimental approach for acridinium catalyst design

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
29 11 2023
Accepted
07 12 2023
First published
18 12 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 1061-1067

Enhancing the photocatalytic upcycling of polystyrene to benzoic acid: a combined computational-experimental approach for acridinium catalyst design

A. Ong, Z. C. Wong, K. L. O. Chin, W. W. Loh, M. H. Chua, S. J. Ang and J. Y. C. Lim, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 1061 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC06388G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements