Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 80: 20-37.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64869-8
• Reviews • Previous Articles Next Articles
Jinpeng Zhanga,1, Teng Liangb,1, Jaenudin Ridwana, Tian Chena, Elhussein M. Hashema, Meijun Guoa, Amin Talebian-Kiakalaieha, Le Yua, Ping Sheb,*(
), Jingrun Rana,*(
)
Received:2025-07-30
Accepted:2025-09-10
Online:2026-01-18
Published:2025-12-26
Contact:
E-mail: About author:Ping She (College of Chemistry, Jilin University) received her bachelor’s degree from Jilin University in 2014. In 2018, she obtained her Ph.D. degree in engineering from Jilin University. She then completed post-doctoral work at Jilin University (Post Doctoral Innovative Talent Support Program of China from 2018 to 2021). Her research focuses on inorganic porous nanomaterial-based catalysis evolution.Supported by:Jinpeng Zhang, Teng Liang, Jaenudin Ridwan, Tian Chen, Elhussein M. Hashem, Meijun Guo, Amin Talebian-Kiakalaieh, Le Yu, Ping She, Jingrun Ran. Key components for realistic application of plastic photoreforming coupled with H2 evolution[J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 80: 20-37.
Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX
URL: https://www.cjcatal.com/EN/10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64869-8
Fig. 3. (a) Mechanical pretreatment of plastics to reduce plastic size. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [21]. Copyright 2024, Wiley-VCH. (b) Plasma pretreatment cleaves C-H bonds and forms -OH, O-C=O, and C=O groups in PE. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [29]. Copyright 2023, Wiley-VCH. (c) PE is hydrolyzed to dicarboxylic acid after pretreatment with HNO3. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [30]. Copyright 2022, American Chemical Society. (d) Mechanism of EG and TPA from PET pretreated with KOH. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [31]. Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society. (e) The monomers are obtained at the optimum pretreatment temperatures of LCC and Dura in 100 mmol L?1 carbonate buffer solution with pH = 8.5, respectively, and the influence of different pretreatment conditions (including plastic size, pretreatment method and time) on the depolymerization effect of plastics. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [32]. Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society.
| Photocatalysts | Light source | Plastic | Rate max. (H2) | Chemicals | Stability (h) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CdS/CdOx | solar simulator | PET PLA PUR | 12.4 ± 2.0 mmol g-1 h-1 64.3 ± 14.7 mmol g-1 h-1 3.22 ± 0.13 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, glycolate, ethanol, acetate, lactate Pyruvate-based formate, acetate, pyruvate, lactate | 144 | [ |
| BiVO4/MoOx | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 1.96 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate | 25 | [ |
| CPDs-C3N4 | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 1034 ± 134 μmol g−1 h−1 1326 ± 181 μmol g−1 h−1 | glycolic acid, glycolaldehyde, ethanol — | 216 | [ |
| NiCo2S3-ZnxCd1-xS | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 57.0 mmol g−1 h−1 106.0 mmol g−1 h−1 | formate, glycolate, acetate pyruvate, acetate | 45 | [ |
| FeSA-hCN | 300 W Xe lamp | PE | 42 μmol h-1 | carboxylic acid, ether, alkane, furanone | 144 | [ |
| MoS2/CdS | solar simulator | PET PLA PE | 3.90 ± 0.07 mmol g-1 h-1 6.68 ± 0.10 mmol g-1 h-1 1.13 ± 0.06 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate, glycolate formate formic acid | 200 | [ |
| O-CuIn5S8 | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 2.57 ± 0.02 mmol g−1 h−1 | formate, acetate, glycolate | 25 | [ |
| PCN/WO3 | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 402.09 μmol g−1 h−1 | acetate, formate | 24 | [ |
| Cu/TiO2 | Solar simulator | PET | 193.6 μmol g−1 h−1 | formate, acetate, glycollate, lactate | 25 | [ |
| Pd-CdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 49.8 μmol g−1 h−1 | pyruvic acid-based | >100 | [ |
| d-NiPS3/CdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 31.38 mmol g-1 h-1 39.76 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate, glycolate acetate, pyruvate-based | >100 | [ |
| T-ZnSe | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 42 μmol h−1 54 μmol h−1 | formate, acetate, lactate, ethanol acetate, propionate-based | 12 | [ |
| CNx|Ni2P | Solar simulator | PET PLA | 31.2 μmol g-1 h-1 32.9 μmol g-1 h-1 | formate, glyoxal, glycolate, acetate formate, acetate | 120 | [ |
| Ni2P/ZnIn2S4 | 4 × 25W, LED | PLA PET PTT PBT | 781.3 μmol g−1 h−1 686.1 μmol g−1 h−1 519.4 μmol g−1 h−1 330.0 μmol g−1 h−1 | pyruvic acid glycolate, formate, acetate malonate, 3-hydroxypropionate succinate, 4-hydroxybutyrate | 20 | [ |
| Pt/g-C3N4 | Solar simulator | PET | 2000 μmol g−1 h−1 | formic acid, acetic acid | 20 | [ |
| Cu-SA/TiO2 NPs | 122 mW cm-2 | PET | 3.45 mmol h-1 m-2 | — | 336 | [ |
| Pt1/TiO2 PtNPs/TiO2 | 300 W Xe lamp 300 W Xe lamp | PET PET | 51.8 μmol g−1 h−1 219.1 μmol g−1 h−1 | glyoxal, glyoxylate, lactate, acetate acetate | 120 120 | [43] [43] |
| CN-CNTs-NiMo | 500 W Xe lamp | PET | 90 μmol g−1 h−1 | glyoxal, glycolate | 20 | [ |
| ZnZn-Salen-Ni COF | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 421.46 μmol g−1 h−1 | formic acid | 48 | [ |
| Pt SA/BCN100 | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 993 μmol g−1 h−1 | acetic acid | 16 | [ |
| Ni3S4/ZnCdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 27.9 mmol g-1 h-1 | pyruvate, acetate | 15 | [ |
| PET | 17.4 mmol g-1 h-1 | acetate, glycolate, formate | ||||
| NiSA/CeO2 | 300 W Xe lamp | PE | 0.23 mmol h-1 | propionic acid, adipic acid | 12 | [ |
Table 1 Photocatalysts for plastic photoreforming.
| Photocatalysts | Light source | Plastic | Rate max. (H2) | Chemicals | Stability (h) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CdS/CdOx | solar simulator | PET PLA PUR | 12.4 ± 2.0 mmol g-1 h-1 64.3 ± 14.7 mmol g-1 h-1 3.22 ± 0.13 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, glycolate, ethanol, acetate, lactate Pyruvate-based formate, acetate, pyruvate, lactate | 144 | [ |
| BiVO4/MoOx | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 1.96 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate | 25 | [ |
| CPDs-C3N4 | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 1034 ± 134 μmol g−1 h−1 1326 ± 181 μmol g−1 h−1 | glycolic acid, glycolaldehyde, ethanol — | 216 | [ |
| NiCo2S3-ZnxCd1-xS | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 57.0 mmol g−1 h−1 106.0 mmol g−1 h−1 | formate, glycolate, acetate pyruvate, acetate | 45 | [ |
| FeSA-hCN | 300 W Xe lamp | PE | 42 μmol h-1 | carboxylic acid, ether, alkane, furanone | 144 | [ |
| MoS2/CdS | solar simulator | PET PLA PE | 3.90 ± 0.07 mmol g-1 h-1 6.68 ± 0.10 mmol g-1 h-1 1.13 ± 0.06 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate, glycolate formate formic acid | 200 | [ |
| O-CuIn5S8 | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 2.57 ± 0.02 mmol g−1 h−1 | formate, acetate, glycolate | 25 | [ |
| PCN/WO3 | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 402.09 μmol g−1 h−1 | acetate, formate | 24 | [ |
| Cu/TiO2 | Solar simulator | PET | 193.6 μmol g−1 h−1 | formate, acetate, glycollate, lactate | 25 | [ |
| Pd-CdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 49.8 μmol g−1 h−1 | pyruvic acid-based | >100 | [ |
| d-NiPS3/CdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 31.38 mmol g-1 h-1 39.76 mmol g-1 h-1 | formate, acetate, glycolate acetate, pyruvate-based | >100 | [ |
| T-ZnSe | 300 W Xe lamp | PET PLA | 42 μmol h−1 54 μmol h−1 | formate, acetate, lactate, ethanol acetate, propionate-based | 12 | [ |
| CNx|Ni2P | Solar simulator | PET PLA | 31.2 μmol g-1 h-1 32.9 μmol g-1 h-1 | formate, glyoxal, glycolate, acetate formate, acetate | 120 | [ |
| Ni2P/ZnIn2S4 | 4 × 25W, LED | PLA PET PTT PBT | 781.3 μmol g−1 h−1 686.1 μmol g−1 h−1 519.4 μmol g−1 h−1 330.0 μmol g−1 h−1 | pyruvic acid glycolate, formate, acetate malonate, 3-hydroxypropionate succinate, 4-hydroxybutyrate | 20 | [ |
| Pt/g-C3N4 | Solar simulator | PET | 2000 μmol g−1 h−1 | formic acid, acetic acid | 20 | [ |
| Cu-SA/TiO2 NPs | 122 mW cm-2 | PET | 3.45 mmol h-1 m-2 | — | 336 | [ |
| Pt1/TiO2 PtNPs/TiO2 | 300 W Xe lamp 300 W Xe lamp | PET PET | 51.8 μmol g−1 h−1 219.1 μmol g−1 h−1 | glyoxal, glyoxylate, lactate, acetate acetate | 120 120 | [43] [43] |
| CN-CNTs-NiMo | 500 W Xe lamp | PET | 90 μmol g−1 h−1 | glyoxal, glycolate | 20 | [ |
| ZnZn-Salen-Ni COF | 300 W Xe lamp | PET | 421.46 μmol g−1 h−1 | formic acid | 48 | [ |
| Pt SA/BCN100 | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 993 μmol g−1 h−1 | acetic acid | 16 | [ |
| Ni3S4/ZnCdS | 300 W Xe lamp | PLA | 27.9 mmol g-1 h-1 | pyruvate, acetate | 15 | [ |
| PET | 17.4 mmol g-1 h-1 | acetate, glycolate, formate | ||||
| NiSA/CeO2 | 300 W Xe lamp | PE | 0.23 mmol h-1 | propionic acid, adipic acid | 12 | [ |
Fig. 4. (a) Chronological development of photocatalysts for plastic reforming. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [19,33]. Copyright 2018 and 2023, Royal Society of Chemistry. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [30,32,36,37,39,41,46]. Copyright 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, American Chemical Society. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [35]. Copyright 2024, Elsevier. Reprinted with permission from Refs. [47,49]. Copyright 2021 and 2025, Wiley. (b) Trends in publications in recent years related to the keywords “photocatalysis” include “plastic” (The data based on Web of Science). (c) Schematic image of photocatalyst exploration for plastic photo-reforming.
Fig. 5. (a) Schematic illustration of BiVO4/MoOx photoreforming pretreated PET plastic into H2 and chemicals. (b) Effect of MoOx loading on H2O-TPD results. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [22]. Copyright 2024, Elsevier. (c) Theoretical diagram of O doping site in CuIn5S8. (d) Band structure diagram of CuIn5S8 before and after doping with O. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [33]. Copyright 2023, Royal Society of Chemistry. (e) Theoretical model of heterostructure photocatalyst MoS2/CdxZn1-xS containing CdxZn1-xS solid solution. (f) Effect of Cd/Zn content ratio in CdxZn1-xS on band structure. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [49]. Copyright 2021, Wiley-VCH. (g) Cell structure of anatase TiO2 and Au/TiO2 (after doping Au nanoparticles). (h) Absorption spectra of TiO2 and Au/TiO2. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [50]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier.
Fig. 6. (a) Synthesis illustration of PCN/WO3 heterostructure photocatalysts. (b) Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism in PCN/WO3 heterostructure. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [34]. Copyright 2024, Springer Nature. (c) Preparation procedure of Cu1-O4 SAC. (d) Photocatalysis process over SACs. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [35]. Copyright 2024, Elsevier. (e) H2 yield of CdS loaded with different cocatalysts after 8 h photo-reforming. (f) k2-weighted Pd K-edge Fourier-transformed EXAFS spectra of different Pd species in R space. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [36]. Copyright 2024, American Chemical Society. (g) HAADF-STEM image of T-ZnSe. (h) XRD patterns of T-ZnSe and S-ZnSe. H2 (i) and organic acid (j) yields from PLA and PET photo-reforming by T-ZnSe and S-ZnSe. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [38]. Copyright 2024, Royal Society of Chemistry.
Fig. 7. (a) Schematic image of floatable photocatalytic nanocomposites. (b) H2 evolution through PET reforming. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [42]. Copyright 2023, Springer Nature. (c) Schematic of the conversion to single atom and nanoparticles on CeO2 (100) and CeO2 (111), respectively. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [77]. Copyright 2022, Wiley. (d) Preparation process of PDMS microreactor. Reprinted with permission from Ref. Copyright 2023, Elsevier. Continuous flow (e) and batch preparation routes (f). Reprinted with permission from Refs. [78,79]. Copyright 2023, Elsevier.
Fig. 8. (a) Schematic diagram of a machine learning process. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [90]. Copyright 2023, Springer Nature. (b) Theoretical calculation guided by AI. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [91]. Copyright 2025, Wiley. (c) A machine learning and AI-guided photocatalysis experimental platform. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [93]. Copyright 2024, Science.
Fig. 10. (a) Concentrated solar power technology for promoting photocatalytic reactions. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [101]. Copyright 2024, MDPI. Image of suspended reactor (b) (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [39]. Copyright 2019, American Chemical Society) and immobilized reactor (c) (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [32]. Copyright 2023, American Chemical Society).
Fig. 11. (a) Pilot plant model for photoreforming of mixed waste (plastic, food waste, and biomass). (b) A sensitivity analysis was conducted for each parameter with respect to H2 production cost, carbon footprint, and EROI (blue indicating optimistic scenarios; red indicating pessimistic scenarios). The hollow circles in the ‘catalyst reuse’ section illustrate the impact of utilizing the more expensive TiO2|Pt photocatalyst in H2O. Photoreforming in 1 mol L?1 NaOH is examined only in the ‘NaOH reuse’ case. Reprinted with permission from Ref. Copyright 2020, Springer Nature [4].
|
| [1] | Peng Liu, Lian Duan, Baopeng Yang, Mingwei Sun, Gen Chen, Xiaohe Liu, Min Liu, Ning Zhang. Tuning surface electronic structure of (CuGa)xZn1‒2xGa2S4 photocatalyst for efficient nitrate-to-ammonia conversion [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 172-182. |
| [2] | Jinhe Li, Xiaxi Yao, Xiaohui Yu, Xiaosong Zhou, Wei Ren, Lele Wang, Weikang Wang, Qinqin Liu. Simultaneous value-added utilization of photogenerated electrons and holes via plasmon-exciton-phonon synergy in Mo2N QDs/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 219-230. |
| [3] | R. Kavitha, C. Manjunatha, S. Girish Kumar. ZnO-based S-scheme heterojunction: Design principles, preparation methods and photocatalytic activity [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 54-95. |
| [4] | Sixian Li, Youyu Duan, Xinyuan Liang, Yuhan Li, Dieqing Zhang. Decoding the atomic architecture of photocatalytic active sites: From precise identification to rational design principles [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 1-23. |
| [5] | Keshan Tang, Wanyi Deng, Ningyuan Wang, Yang Xia, Xinhe Wu, Heng Yang. Triazine-based COF/TiO2 S-scheme heterojunction with oxygen vacancies for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 244-257. |
| [6] | Kaiqiang Xu, Wenjun Zhu, Mahmoud Sayed, Sheng Han. Design and preparation of 1D-based S-scheme photocatalysts [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 24-53. |
| [7] | Ke-Hui Xie, Cong-Xue Liu, Yan Geng, Jing-Lan Kan, Guang-Bo Wang, Yu-Bin Dong. Efficient H2O2 photosynthesis through linker engineering of benzotrithiophene-based covalent organic frameworks [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 271-281. |
| [8] | Yixin Li, Jianhao Qiu, Guanglu Xia, Qiying Liu, Biyao Fang, Meng Liu, Chen Chen, Jianfeng Yao. Hollow tubular In2O3 modified carbon nitride for photocatalytic high-yield cleavage of lignin C-C bonds under 395 nm light [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 83(4): 209-218. |
| [9] | Haonan Li, Wa Gao, Kangli Ma, Jian Lei, Olim Ruzimuradov, Akhtam Samiev, Ya Chen, Jingxiang Low, Yue Li. Interfacial Ni-N bond in g-C3N4/CoNi2S4 for enhanced photocatalytic CO2 conversion [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 82(3): 266-277. |
| [10] | Chunyuan Chen, Zhongliao Wang, Ying Ma, Bo Weng, Shifu Chen, Sugang Meng. Synergistic effect of S-doping and nitrogen-vacancy engineering on 2D/3D S-scheme photocatalyst for efficient photosynthesis of H2O2 [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 82(3): 278-291. |
| [11] | Jing Zhang, Xidong Zhang, Kaiyan Wang, Xuefei Wang, Ping Wang, Feng Chen, Huogen Yu. Citric directional coordination for efficient photocatalytic synthesis of H2O2 with high value-added β-Ketoglutaric acid [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 82(3): 201-211. |
| [12] | Zhe Zhang, Guixu Pan, Wei Zhu, Keyu Zhang, Guijie Liang, Shihan Wang, Ning Wang, Yan Xing, Yunfeng Li. Multi-intermolecular forces strengthen interfacial carrier mobility in poly (barbituric acid) all-organic heterojunction systems for efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 81(2): 284-298. |
| [13] | Xiong Wang, Chao Peng, Yongkang Xiao, Ziye Zhang, Huiping Zheng, Wenjie Yue, Sheng Tian, Xingsheng Hu, Weifan Shao, Guanghui Chen, Binghao Wang, Huijuan Wang, Mingming Yin, Jinxin Li, Yang Li, Lang Chen, Shuangfeng Yin. Surface engineering enhancing activity and stability of Bi2WO6-x for selective C-H bond photooxidation [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 81(2): 246-258. |
| [14] | Na Tian, Chaofan Yuan, Tong Zhou, Wenying Yu, Yinghui Wang, Na Zhang, Yihe Zhang, Hongwei Huang. Defect-coordinated Au nanoparticles in carbon nitride for efficient piezo-photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 81(2): 272-283. |
| [15] | Jiaping Lu, Chao Lin, Chao Li, Hongjie Shi, Nengyi Liu, Wandong Xing, Sibo Wang, Guigang Zhang, Teng-Teng Chen, Xiong Chen. Bipyridine-integrated bisoxazole-based donor-acceptor covalent organic framework for enhanced photocatalytic H2O2 synthesis [J]. Chinese Journal of Catalysis, 2026, 81(2): 185-194. |
| Viewed | ||||||
|
Full text |
|
|||||
|
Abstract |
|
|||||