Controlling the selectivity of the hydrogenolysis of polyamides catalysed by ceria-supported metal nanoparticles

Autor: XinBang Wu, Wei-Tse Lee, Roland C. Turnell-Ritson, Pauline C. L. Delannoi, Kun-Han Lin, Paul J. Dyson
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42246-x
Popis: Abstract Catalytic hydrogenolysis is a promising approach to transform waste plastic into valuable chemicals. However, the transformation of N-containing polymers, such as polyamides (i.e. nylon), remains under-investigated, particularly by heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we demonstrate the hydrogenolysis of various polyamides catalysed by platinum-group metal nanoparticles supported on CeO2. Ru/CeO2 and Pt/CeO2 are both highly active but display different selectivity; Ru/CeO2 is selective for the conversion of all polyamides into water, ammonia, and methane, whereas Pt/CeO2 yields hydrocarbons retaining the carbon backbone of the parent polyamide. Density functional theory computations illustrate that Pt nanoparticles require higher activation energy for carbon−carbon bond cleavage than Ru nanoparticles, rationalising the observed selectivity. The high activity and product selectivity of both catalysts was maintained when converting real-world polyamide products, such as fishing net. This study provides a mechanistic basis for heterogeneously catalysed polyamide hydrogenolysis, and a new approach to the valorisation of polyamide containing waste.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals