Photochemical Aerobic Upcycling of Polystyrene Plastics

Abstract Although the introduction of plastics has improved humanity's everyday life, the fast accumulation of plastic waste, including microplastics and nanoplastics, have created numerous problems with recent studies highlighting their involvement in various aspects of our lives. Upcycling of plastics, the conversion of plastic waste to high‐added value chemicals, is a way to combat plastic waste that is receiving increased attention. Herein, we describe a novel aerobic photochemical process for the upcycling of real‐life polystyrene‐based plastics into benzoic acid. A new process employing a thioxanthone‐derivative, in combination with N ‐bromosuccinimide, under ambient air and 390 nm irradiation is capable of upcycling real‐life polystyrene‐derived products in benzoic acid in yields varying from 24–54 %.