https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see <p><strong><em>Science for Energy and Environment (</em></strong><em><strong>SEE) </strong></em>is a gold open-access journal and aims to publish topics in green energy and the environment, with a shared focus on materials and catalysis research that drives the fundamental understanding and development in energy and the environment.</p> en-US see@sciltp.com (SEE Editorial Office) see@sciltp.com (SEE Editorial Office) Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800 OJS 3.3.0.11 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/587 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Review</em></p> <h1>Upcycling of Waste Plastics into Value-Added Chemicals</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Jin Xu and Jing Zhang *</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China</p> <p>* Correspondence: jingzhang8507@ecust.edu.cn</p> <p>Received: 8 November 2024; Revised: 22 January 2025; Accepted: 24 March 2025; Published: 27 March 2025</p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>The rapid increase in plastic production has led to a severe plastic waste crisis, driving the development of various recycling technologies to mitigate this growing issue. However, these technologies often encounter substantial economic and environmental challenges in their implementation. An increasingly attractive alternative is chemical upcycling, which can transform waste plastics into value-added chemicals. This review systematically examines upcycling technologies applicable to major commercial plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyolefins, polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). We focus on key strategies such as solvolysis, catalytic pyrolysis, hydrocracking and hydrogenolysis, along with some emerging approaches such as electrocatalysis and photooxidation, aiming to summarize emerging trends in the catalytic chemical upcycling of waste plastics.</p> Jin Xu, Jing Zhang Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/587 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800 https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/551 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Review</em></p> <h1>An Overview of Light-Assisted CO₂ Cycloaddition for Cyclic Carbonate: Paths of Photo-Induced Thermal-Catalysis, Photocatalysis and Photo-Thermal Synergistic Catalysis</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Bin Zhu ¹, Qichao Cao ¹, Xin Ding ^1,*, and Xiaolong Yang ^1,2,*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University, 308 NingXia Road, Qingdao 266071, China</p> <p>² State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Collaborative Innovation Center of Shandong Marine Bio-Based Fibers and Ecological Textiles, Qingdao University, 308 NingXia Road, Qingdao 266071, China</p> <p>* Correspondence: dingxin@qdu.edu.cn (X.D.); yangxl@qdu.edu.cn (X.Y.)</p> <p>Received: 4 November 2024; Revised: 6 January 2024; Accepted: 22 January 2025; Published: 6 February 2026</p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>The increase of CO₂ concentration significantly results in severe greenhouse effect. Reducing emission and chemically utilizing CO₂ are effective means to solve this problem. CO₂ cycloaddition reaction with epoxide is atomically economical and environmentally friendly. However, current catalytic systems still have a long way to go for high catalytic efficiency under mild conditions. Solar energy has demonstrated excellent characteristics in direct photothermal utilization, photocatalytic reactions, and photoelectrochemical reactions recently. Therefore, herein this review summarizes the research work on solar energy mediated CO₂ cycloaddition reactions in the past decade. Firstly, the heat generated by photothermal effects is confined to the local space and can be more effectively absorbed by reaction molecules for efficient reactions, greatly reducing the energy consumption of traditional thermal reactions. CO₂ cycloaddition with carbon-based materials, polyoxometalates (POM), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and ionic liquids (ILs) as catalysts are reviewed and analyzed; Secondly, semiconductor exhibit high activity due to activation of reactants by photogenerated charges and holes. Single atom catalysts, composites, atomic clusters, MOFs, COFs, Porous organic polymers (POPs), and others used in such reaction are reviewed and analyzed; Finally, the solar light mediated photothermal synergistic catalysis and the reaction system of light and external heating synergy are introduced and analyzed. Last but not least, some issues in the development of solar energy mediated CO₂ cycloaddition reactions are analyzed and discussed, and future research prospects are proposed on this basis.</p> Bin Zhu, Qichao Cao, Xin Ding, Xiaolong Yanng Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/551 Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0800 https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/612 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Article</em></p> <h1>Ba-mediated Pt/TiO₂ for Enhanced Low Temperature HCHO Oxidation Originated from the Interaction between Pt and Ba</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Chenxuanzhi Ruan ^1,2, Hongguo Gao ¹, Xuejuan Zhao ², Zelin Hua ¹, Shenjie Lv ¹, Shanshan Chen ^3,*, and Licheng Li ^1,*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China</p> <p>²School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211167, China</p> <p>³School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China</p> <p><strong>* </strong>Correspondence: sschen@nankai.edu.cn (S.C.); lilc@njfu.edu.cn (L.L.)</p> <p>Received: 22 January 2025; Revised: 27 February 2025; Accepted: 10 March 2025; Published: 11 March 2025</p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>The alkaline earth metals have recently been reported to exhibit a similar role as alkali metals in enhancing the low temperature formaldehyde (HCHO) oxidation performance of precious metal supported catalysts; however, its essential mechanism is still not well understood. In this work, it is found that the Pt precursor is critical for Ba-mediated Pt/TiO₂ catalyst to achieve the efficient HCHO oxidation performance. Catalytic results indicate that Pt/TiO₂ catalysts using tetraammineplatinum(II) nitrate (Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂) and chloroplatinic acid (H₂PtCl₆) as Pt precursors exhibit comparable performance in HCHO oxidation. Notably, the Ba-mediated Pt/TiO₂ catalyst synthesized from Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃)₂ shows exceptional catalytic performance, with its HCHO reaction rate being 3.8-fold that of Pt/TiO₂, while the Ba-mediated Pt/TiO₂ catalyst derived from H₂PtCl₆ has the similar catalytic activity to that of Pt/TiO₂. Series characterization results reveal that the Ba species can strongly interact with Pt to form the Ba-O-Pt active site within the Ba-mediated Pt/TiO₂ catalyst derived from Pt(NH₃)₄(NO₃). However, such interaction is not observed in the catalyst synthesized from H₂PtCl₆. Additionally, more oxygen species and hydroxyl groups can be adsorbed and activated on the Ba-O-Pt active site than those on the typical Pt active site, and HCHO undergoes efficient oxidation on the Ba-O-Pt active site via a different reaction pathway (HCHO→HCOO⁻ + OH→H₂O + CO₂) analogous to that observed on alkali metal-mediated active site. These findings can provide a deep insight into the development of highly efficient catalysts for low temperature HCHO oxidation.</p> Chenxuanzhi Ruan, Hongguo Gao, Xuejuan Zhao, Zelin Hua, Shenjie Lv, Shanshan Chen, Licheng Li Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/612 Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800 https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/873 <p class="categorytitle"><em>Article</em></p> <h1>Improved Methanol-to-Formate Electrocatalytic Reaction by Engineering of Nickel Hydroxide and Iron Oxyhydroxide Heterostructures</h1> <div class="abstract_title"> <p><strong>Ning Jian ^1,2, Huan Ge ^1,2, Yi Ma ^1,2, Yong Zhang ^1,2, Luming Li ^1,2, Junfeng Liu ³, Jing Yu ⁴, Canhuang Li ⁴, and Junshan Li ^1,2,*</strong></p> </div> <div class="abstract_top"> <p>¹School of Mechanic Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China</p> <p>²Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China</p> <p>³Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Jiangsu 212013, China</p> <p>⁴Catalonia Institute for Energy Research-IREC, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona 08930, Spain</p> <p>* Correspondence: lijunshan@cdu.edu.cn</p> <p>Received: 8 March 2025; Revised: 21 March 2025; Accepted: 25 March 2025; Published: 27 March 2025</p> </div> <p><strong class="label">Abstract: </strong>Electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) holds significant value in the chemical industry, as it enables the treatment of methanol-containing wastewater and promotes hydrogen production from water. This study investigates a strategy based on tuning-composition of metal elements to optimize MOR performance, aiming to outperform the current cost-effective and efficient catalysts. To this end, nickel hydroxide and iron oxyhydroxide heterostructures were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal routine, and the catalytic performance of three different Ni/Fe ratios in MOR was examined in alkaline media. Among them, the material with equal Ni/Fe ratio exhibited the best catalytic activity, maintaining a high current density of ~66 mA cm⁻² at 1.5 V vs. RHE in 1 M KOH electrolyte with 1 M methanol. Moreover, this developed electrode showed a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 98.5% for formate production within a continuous 12 h test. Furthermore, density function theory (DFT) calculation was applied to unravel the methanol-to-formate conversion mechanism that was enhanced by the proper Ni/Fe ratio. These results demonstrate the high efficiency and selectivity of efficient methanol-to-formate conversion on NiFe-based materials, providing a promising a non-precious catalyst for electrocatalytic upgrading methanol to value-added formate.</p> Ning Jian, Huan Ge, Yi Ma, Yong Zhang, Luming Li, Junfeng Liu, Jing Yu, Canhuang Li, Junshan Li Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://w3.sciltp.com/journals/see/article/view/873 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800