Photoconverting polyethylene terephthalate into exclusive carbon dioxide by heterostructured NiO/Fe2O3 nanosheets under mild conditions

Degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics by the traditional technologies usually requires high energy consumption and encounters poor product selectivity. Herein, we report the photoconversion of PET into carbon dioxide with 100% selectivity by in-plane heterostructured NiO/Fe2O3 nanosheets in pure water under normal temperature and pressure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectra demonstrate the construction of the Z-scheme heterojunction, which can help to accelerate the separation of electron-hole pairs for enhanced PET conversion property. Various in-situ characterization techniques and experiments unveil that PET is photodegraded into carbon dioxide by the photogenerated holes, while oxygen is photoreduced into water by the photoexcited electrons. This work will open new avenues toward resolving the white pollution crisis.