(293a) Polyolefin Upcycling over Earth-Abundant Catalysts

Hydrogenolysis has emerged as a key technology for deconstructing polyolefins to valuable products. Existing polyolefin hydrogenolysis catalysts only utilize noble metals (i.e., Ru, Pt, etc.) despite their high cost. However, noble metals are costly and have limited availability. Cheap, earth-abundant metals have been deemed inactive for polyolefin hydrogenolysis. Herein, we discover earth-abundant catalysts for deconstructing low-density polyethylene at mild conditions and good liquid yields. These catalysts are reusable and can handle multiple plastics with diverse products. Moreover, we expose a new mechanism of long-alkane hydrogenolysis. Extending this mechanism to polyolefin hydrogenolysis elucidates key features of the polyethylene deconstruction. These findings broaden the scope of polyolefin hydrogenolysis catalysts.