From waste to energy - Photocatalytic anaerobic degradation of microplastics to generate hydrogen

Microplastics are very prominent pollutants in our environment, and the reduction of microplastics waste is a major responsibility for our society. Here, microplastics are used as hydrogen source to generate the green energy carrier hydrogen from anaerobic photocatalysis. Using P25 TiO2 as typical photocatalyst, we show that as used model microplastics can act as solid sources for hydrogen. The highest hydrogen evolution rate was observed when LDPE or PET were used, leading to stable hydrogen evolution for several hours.