Turning trash into treasure: Metal-free upcycling of polystyrene plastic waste to aromatics

The environmental stress of plastic waste and the high demand of aromatic commodities are both calling for sustainable solutions. In this issue of Chem, Das and co-workers develop an integrated strategy for both dilemmas by upcycling polystyrene plastic waste to low-molecular-weight aromatics via a metal-free catalytic photooxidation pathway. The environmental stress of plastic waste and the high demand of aromatic commodities are both calling for sustainable solutions. In this issue of Chem, Das and co-workers develop an integrated strategy for both dilemmas by upcycling polystyrene plastic waste to low-molecular-weight aromatics via a metal-free catalytic photooxidation pathway. Integrated strategy for the synthesis of aromatic building blocks via upcycling of real-life plastic wastesQin et al.ChemJune 21, 2022In BriefQin, Zhang et al. developed a protocol for chemical upcycling of polystyrene-based wastes into aromatics. Requiring no metal, acid, or harsh reaction conditions, the protocol is operationally simple and has also been demonstrated on 13 varieties of real-life plastics on the gram scale. Tandem conversions further illustrate its synthetic utility and commercial potentials. This protocol provides an alternative approach to the synthesis of lower aromatics, contributing to circular economy targets. Full-Text PDF