Progress on Photo-, Electro-, and Photoelectro-Catalytic Conversion of Recalcitrant Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polystyrene - A Review.

Recalcitrant waste plastics such a polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene are difficult to recycle and are mostly disposed of in landfills and eventually leached into the environmental as micro- and nano-plastics. This review explores how photo-, electro-, and combined photoelectro-catalytic processes can assist in the degradation and upcycling of waste plastic into different chemicals and mitigate their release to the environment. In this work, we discuss how the different reaction mechanisms proceed, explore the current relevant literature, and highlight the developments needed to advance the field.

Upcycling to Sustainably Reuse Plastics.

Plastics are now indispensable in daily lives. However, the pollution from plastics is also increasingly becoming a serious environmental issue. Recent years have seen more sustainable approaches and technologies, commonly known as upcycling, to transform plastics into value-added materials and chemical feedstocks.

Enhanced photocatalysis and bacterial inhibition in NbO versatile doping with metals (Sr, Y, Zr, and Ag): a critical assessment.

Unique optical properties render semiconductor NbO nanoparticles suitable for light harvesting and photocatalytic applications. This study focuses on determining optical properties such as the band gap, conduction band edge, valence band edge and work function of as-prepared solution combustion synthesized NbO nanoparticles with the help of UV-vis Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) techniques. Phase purity and the oxidation states of the elements present in the material were confirmed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), respectively.