Persulfate-Based Advanced Oxidation Reforming of Polyethylene Terephthalate Fiber into Formate via Singlet Oxygen Activation

Abstract

Due to the shortage of rational waste management, plastic waste has become increasingly serious, posing a serious threat to the environment and humans. The catalytic oxidation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste has been reported to reduce environmental stress and produce valuable products. However, obtaining valuable chemicals from waste plastics under mild conditions driven by specific reactive oxygen species is a great challenge. Herein, N, P-doped Mo₂C@porous carbon was designed and employed in the peroxymonosulfate-based advanced oxidation reforming of PET hydrolysate. The ethylene glycol (EG) derived from PET fiber was catalytically oxidized to formate via singlet oxygen activation during the peroxymonosulfate-based advanced oxidation process. Compared with Mo₂C, the N, P-doped Mo₂C@porous carbon catalyst with a large specific surface area provides more active sites, which has the characteristic of high catalytic activity. It presents the tetracycline degradation efficiency of ~ 80% under a wide pH range (6.8–10.6) and, further, the formate generation rate of ~ 56.5 mmol g_cat⁻¹ in the advanced oxidation reforming process of EG in 8 h. The detection and quenching experiments on the oxygen active species comprehensively confirmed that singlet oxygen is the key reactive oxygen species during the advanced catalytic oxidation reactions. This work provided a constructive demonstration for designing advanced oxidation catalysts to catalyze the reforming of waste PET fiber plastics into valuable chemicals.

Graphical Abstract

The catalytic reforming of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste and proper treatment of fiber-based microplastics have emerged as critical areas of research and innovation to alleviate environmental stress and generate valuable products. This work sheds light on the efficient Mo₂C@porous C catalyst design via singlet oxygen activation for persulfate-based advanced oxidation reforming of EG from PET fiber waste, providing a potential countermeasure to address plastic waste pollution and achieve carbon neutrality

Keywords

Plastic waste / PET fiber reforming / PMS activation / Singlet oxygen species / Formate / Engineering / Environmental Engineering / Chemical Sciences / Other Chemical Sciences

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Funding

Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology, China(21ZR1480000)

National Natural Science Foundation of China(52122312)

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, Donghua University (KF2508)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Donghua University, Shanghai, China