Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40328800›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Facile visible-light upcycling of diverse waste plastics using a single organocatalyst with minimal loadings.

Sijing Zhang, Jingxiang Wang, Dewen Su, Xiao Xiao

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Photocracking of Polystyrene into Aromatic Products in CHAngewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Sijing ZhangKey Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Jingxiang WangKey Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Dewen SuKey Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-4114-6935
Xiao XiaoKey Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. xiaoxiao@scu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-6835

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 22301200
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The escalating plastic waste crisis stems from limitations in conventional recycling methods, which are energy-intensive and produce lower-quality materials, leaving a substantial portion unrecycled. Here, we report a versatile organo-photocatalytic upcycling method employing an easily accessible phenothiazine derivative, PTH-3CN, to selectively deconstruct a wide array of commodity polymers-including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethanes (PU), polycarbonates (PC), and other vinyl polymers-into valuable small molecules with minimal catalyst loading (as low as 500 ppm). Operating under mild conditions with visible light and ambient air, this protocol requires no additional acids or metals and adapts effectively to mixed and post-consumer plastic waste. Mechanistic analysis reveals that PTH-3CN serves as a precatalyst, decomposing into active triarylamine species that drive efficient degradation likely through a consecutive photoinduced electron transfer mechanism. This approach offers a promising, scalable route for sustainable plastic upcycling with broad applicability.

Identifiers

PMID40328800
PMCPMC12056016

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.