Vanadium photocatalyst transforms plastic with sunlight

The team first took polyethylene samples and dissolved them in a solvent at 85°C. A powdered catalyst comprised of vanadium was then added, and the solution exposed to artificial sunlight. Over a period of six days, the photocatalyst broke down the carbon-carbon bonds that make most plastics difficult to break down without high temperatures. The catalyst was specially designed to break these bonds, by latching onto a nearby chemical group known as an alcohol group and using energy absorbed from sunlight to unravel the molecule like a zipper.

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Not only does the catalyst break down the stubborn carbon-carbon bonds, the chemicals that the reaction creates are also inherently useful. The process turned the polyethylene into formic acid, a naturally occurring preservative and antibacterial agent, which can also be used for energy generation by power plants and in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The research is published in Advanced Science.