Artificial Photosynthesis of Glycolaldehyde and Syngas from Plastic Feedstocks via Boron-Functionalized Nickel Species on CdS
Date
2025
Authors
Zhang, S.
Gao, X.
Xia, B.
Slattery, A.
Ran, J.
Qiao, S.-Z.
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Advisors
Journal Title
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Type:
Journal article
Citation
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2025; 64(48):e202517025-1-e202517025-11
Statement of Responsibility
Shuai Zhang, Xintong Gao, Bingquan Xia, Ashley Slattery, Jingrun Ran, Shi-Zhang Qiao
Conference Name
Abstract
Glycolaldehyde is an important intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and biodegradable plastics. Artificial photosynthesis of glycolaldehyde from plastic waste provides a sustainable approach for waste recycling and solar energy utilization. However, the inertness of plastic substrates and unselective photoredox make it challenging to generate valuable aldehydes or other market-demanded products. Here we demonstrate co-production of glycolaldehyde and syngas from the photoreforming of polyethylene terephthalate via an electron–proton cascade redox using a boron-functionalized nickel species modified CdS photocatalyst (NinB@Ni-BOx/CdS) under ambient conditions. We confirm the surface specie as a nickel boride@nickel borate core-shell nanoarchitecture with dual functions, serving as a reduction cocatalyst and facilitating electron–proton cascade transfer. The feature boosts charge separation and reactant molecule activation for an efficient cooperative redox. The optimized photocatalyst exhibits a glycolaldehyde generation of 1068.3 µmol gcat¯¹ h¯¹ with a selectivity of 66.3%, as well as a syngas generation of 3232.2 µmol gcat¯¹ h¯¹ with a tuneable H₂/CO ratio. The finding demonstrates the solar-driven synthesis of value-added and multifunctional products from plastic waste as a sustainable and economically promising strategy.
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OnlinePubl
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©2025 The Author(s). Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.