Selective Photocatalytic Upcycling of Polystyrene Plastic to High-Value Chemicals by a Single-Atom Fe Catalyst

Chemical upcycling of polystyrene (PS) plastic waste into targeted high-value chemicals is desirable to mitigate plastic pollution and promote a circular economy. However, most of the existing chemical upcycling methods suffer from poor product selectivity due to harsh reaction conditions and an uncontrollable C-C bond cleavage process. Here, we report the selective photocatalytic upcycling of PS into benzoic acid (BA) using a graphitic carbon nitride-anchored single-atom Fe catalyst (Fe-SA/CN).