Fig. 3: Proposed reaction mechanism. | Nature Communications

Fig. 3: Proposed reaction mechanism.

From: Photothermal recycling of waste polyolefin plastics into liquid fuels with high selectivity under solvent-free conditions

Fig. 3

a Degradation of LDPE over Ru/TiO2 under UV-Vis, Vis, and NIR irradiation at 300 °C under 1 bar H2/Ar (v/v = 30/70) after 20 h reaction. b GPC analysis and distribution of polymeric residues after degradation over Ru/TiO2 under UV-Vis, Vis, and NIR irradiation at 300 °C under 1 bar H2/Ar (v/v = 30/70) after 5 h reaction (UV-Vis: Mw = 6.8 kDa and Đ = 3.6; Vis: Mw = 40.4 kDa and Đ = 7.4; NIR: Mw = 41.9 kDa and Đ = 7.0). c ATR-IR spectra of pristine LDPE, Thermal (pristine LDPE at 300 °C under 1 bar H2/Ar (v/v = 30/70) after 5 h reaction without any catalyst), and Thermal + UV (same condition of Thermal with extra UV light). d UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum of LDPE powder and pristine LDPE under ambient temperature. e GPC distributions of LDPE residue after 5 h reaction (300 °C and 1 bar H2/Ar (v/v = 30/70)) without any catalyst (Thermal: Mw = 80.2 kDa, Đ = 7.7; Thermal + UV: Mw = 19.1 kDa, Đ = 5.0). f Schematic illustration of the proposed photothermal reaction mechanism.

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