An anthraquinone-based covalent organic framework for sustainable photocatalytic oxidative degradation of polystyrene

We present a mild, additive-free, photochemical, aerobic upcycling strategy for the selective conversion of polystyrene (PS) into benzoic acid using an anthraquinone-based covalent organic framework (COF). The reaction proceeds with low catalyst loading and high selectivity and recyclability. Moreover, gram-scale and real-waste degradation experiments demonstrate the practical applicability of this sustainable approach.