Liquid alloy-driven ambient upcycling of fluoropolymer waste.

Qingfeng Fu, Yan Duan, Yan Zhang, Jian Zhou, Peng Gao, Aiping Hu, Jilei Liu

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in National science review, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

When fluoropolymers recycle themselves: self-propagating chemistry for ambient fluoropolymer upcycling.National science review · 2026
Article

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

7 authors.

Qingfeng FuCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7809-2214

Yan DuanCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

Yan ZhangCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

Jian ZhouCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

Peng GaoCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

Aiping HuCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.

Jilei LiuCollege of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan Joint International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technology for Clean Energy, Hunan Province Key Laboratory for Advanced Carbon Materials and Applied Technology, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0571-323X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The chemical upcycling of fluoropolymer waste, particularly polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), has been severely hampered by the harsh thermal conditions required to cleave the highly stable carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds. Here, we report a contact-electro-catalysis-induced self-propagating reaction (CEC-SPR) strategy that enables efficient cleavage of the robust C-F bonds in PTFE under ambient conditions. By employing a highly reactive NaK alloy, which reacts with PTFE through the exothermic Wurtz defluorination reaction, we facilitate the chemical recycling of PTFE into fluorine-doped carbon materials and metal fluorides at room temperature. Our results provide a new conceptual strategy for the upcycling of PTFE plastic waste into functionally useful carbon materials and inorganic fluoride products.

Indexed as

C–F bondchemical upcyclingliquid alloypolytetrafluoroethylene

Identifiers

PMID42500737

DOI10.1093/nsr/nwag359

PMCPMC13397524

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

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.