Defect-enhanced photothermal catalysis over ZnO for efficient depolymerization of waste polyester into high-purity BHET

Mengyao Wang; Haoze Li; Hailong Cheng; Xueming Li; Weihong Lai; Tengfei Zhou; Dionisio Zaldivar Silva; Manuel Rapado Paneque; Derek Hao; Li Wang; Jianping Yang

doi:10.1039/D6CC01647B

Defect-enhanced photothermal catalysis over ZnO for efficient depolymerization of waste polyester into high-purity BHET

Mengyao Wang,^a Haoze Li,^a Hailong Cheng,^a Xueming Li,^a Weihong Lai,^b Tengfei Zhou,

^c Dionisio Zaldivar Silva,^d Manuel Rapado Paneque,^e Derek Hao,

^f Li Wang*^a and Jianping Yang

*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
E-mail: lw66@dhu.edu.cn, jianpingyang@dhu.edu.cn

^b Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Shanghai Key Lab of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China

^c Institutes of Physical Science and Information Technology, Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China

^d Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Havana, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

^e Radiology Department from Center of Technological Applications and Nuclear Development (CEADEN), Havana, Cuba

^f School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Abstract

We report a strategy to enhance the photothermal catalytic performance of ZnO by introducing oxygen vacancies. Under 2.2 W cm⁻² irradiation, the catalyst rapidly elevates the reaction temperature to 190 °C, achieving complete PET conversion within 1 h and yielding BHET with a purity of approximately 96%, substantially outperforming pristine ZnO.

This article is part of the themed collection: 2026 Pioneering Investigator Collection

Chemical Communications

Defect-enhanced photothermal catalysis over ZnO for efficient depolymerization of waste polyester into high-purity BHET

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Defect-enhanced photothermal catalysis over ZnO for efficient depolymerization of waste polyester into high-purity BHET

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