New catalyst makes plastic upcycling 10x more efficient than platinum

Researchers at the University of Rochester and the University of North Texas have developed a tungsten carbide catalyst that breaks down polypropylene plastic waste more efficiently than platinum-based alternatives. In hydrocracking tests targeting the polymer used in water bottles and other products, the material delivered more than 10 times the efficiency of platinum catalysts. The process converts long polymer chains into smaller molecules that can be reused to produce new materials. The catalyst relies on specific metallic and acidic properties that allow bulky plastic molecules to interact without the access limits imposed by the microporous structures in platinum systems. Researchers prepared the tungsten carbide in a targeted phase using temperature-programmed carburization inside high-temperature reactors. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, was led by Linxao Chen at the University of North Texas with support from Marc Porosoff and Siddharth Deshpande at the University of Rochester. The work forms part of broader efforts to upcycle plastic waste rather than downgrade it to lower-value forms.