From Waste to Resource: Upcycling PET into High-Performance MOFs for Advanced Applications

Abstract Due to the non-degradable nature of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the widespread use in food packaging, clothing, and other fields of PET, discarded PET waste continues to accumulate globally, posing significant risks to both the environment and human health. Through chemical recycling methods, PET waste can be decomposed into terephthalic acid (TPA), which serves as an organic linker of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and demonstrates potential for achieving PET waste upcycling, thus garnering considerable attention. MOFs prepared from PET waste have been extensively applied in fields such as adsorption, catalysis, and energy storage. This review aims to analyze the latest research advancements concerning the MOFs prepared from PET waste to provide insights for further development in both the preparation and application of MOFs prepared from PET waste. The comprehensive analysis of this review highlights the innovative pathways toward addressing environmental challenges while enhancing the utility of recycled resources.