{"title":"Oxidative degradation and upcycling of polyethylene wastes","authors":"Yizhen Che, Yanfen Wu, Zhiqiang Niu","doi":"10.1007/s11426-024-2252-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Plastics have become omnipresent in modern life due to their versatility and durability. However, this convenience comes at the cost of substantial waste generation. The inherent chemical stability of plastics complicates its recycling, leading to environmental pollution and ecological threats. This mini-review highlights recent advancements in addressing this challenge by oxidative transformation of polyethylene (PE) into new functional polymers, value-added chemicals, and carbon-based materials. We first discuss the introduction of hydroxyl, carbonyl groups onto PE with a focus on the functionalization degree and selectivity. Subsequently, approaches for PE oxidation into dicarboxylic acids and short-chain oxidized PE are described and compared, with an emphasis on the tandem reactions for converting mixed dicarboxylic acids into other value-added chemicals. We also briefly discuss the oxidative transformation of PE into carbon-based materials and summarize the progress in qualitative and quantitative analysis of oxidation products. Finally, we conclude this mini-review by highlighting the challenges and opportunities in the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":772,"journal":{"name":"Science China Chemistry","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Science China Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"1","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-024-2252-9","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Plastics have become omnipresent in modern life due to their versatility and durability. However, this convenience comes at the cost of substantial waste generation. The inherent chemical stability of plastics complicates its recycling, leading to environmental pollution and ecological threats. This mini-review highlights recent advancements in addressing this challenge by oxidative transformation of polyethylene (PE) into new functional polymers, value-added chemicals, and carbon-based materials. We first discuss the introduction of hydroxyl, carbonyl groups onto PE with a focus on the functionalization degree and selectivity. Subsequently, approaches for PE oxidation into dicarboxylic acids and short-chain oxidized PE are described and compared, with an emphasis on the tandem reactions for converting mixed dicarboxylic acids into other value-added chemicals. We also briefly discuss the oxidative transformation of PE into carbon-based materials and summarize the progress in qualitative and quantitative analysis of oxidation products. Finally, we conclude this mini-review by highlighting the challenges and opportunities in the field.
期刊介绍:
Science China Chemistry, co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China and published by Science China Press, publishes high-quality original research in both basic and applied chemistry. Indexed by Science Citation Index, it is a premier academic journal in the field.
Categories of articles include:
Highlights. Brief summaries and scholarly comments on recent research achievements in any field of chemistry.
Perspectives. Concise reports on thelatest chemistry trends of interest to scientists worldwide, including discussions of research breakthroughs and interpretations of important science and funding policies.
Reviews. In-depth summaries of representative results and achievements of the past 5–10 years in selected topics based on or closely related to the research expertise of the authors, providing a thorough assessment of the significance, current status, and future research directions of the field.