Surface and Interface Properties of Metal Species for Waste Plastic Hydroconversion

The growing accumulation of waste plastics has become a significant environmental challenge, posing significant risks to ecosystems and human health. Hydroconversion has emerged as a promising approach for efficiently converting waste plastics into value-added liquid fuels and wax products. This process typically occurs on supported metal catalysts, where the surface and interface properties of the active metal are critical in determining the catalytic performance. A comprehensive understanding of these metallic surface and interface properties is essential for advancing catalyst design. This Perspective systematically explores the effects of metallic surface properties (geometric and electronic effects) and interface properties (interface effects) on the hydroconversion of plastics containing C–C, C–O, and C–N bonds. Furthermore, it provides theoretical insights into the development of catalytic systems for the hydroconversion of waste plastics, drawing from lessons learned in catalyst design for biomass hydroconversion.