Solar-driven upcycling of plastic waste using plasmonic black gold

Plastic waste accumulation poses a pressing environmental challenge, calling for sustainable routes to convert it into value-added products under mild conditions. Conventional Lewis acid-mediated upcycling relies on hydride transfer and carbocation formation but requires ionic liquids to stabilize intermediates and sacrificial alkylating agents like isopentane to overcome thermodynamic barriers. Here, we present a solar-driven, sacrificial-agent-free approach for catalytic plastic upcycling using plasmonic black gold nanostructures. Under visible-to-NIR irradiation, black gold activates tert-butyl chloride (TBC) through combined photothermal and hot-electron driven activation, generating reactive carbocations in polymer chains while converting Al₂Cl₆ into catalytically active AlCl₃ in situ. This dual activation eliminates the need for ionic liquids and isopentane, enhancing both efficiency and sustainability. The system achieves >80% plastic conversion within one hour solely by light illumination with >75% selectivity toward C₆-C₁₀ alkanes. Mechanistic studies confirm that plasmonic excitation promotes TBC dissociation and sustains AlCl₃ generation throughout the catalytic cycle. The catalyst exhibits excellent recyclability over multiple cycles without loss of activity. A proof-of-concept outdoor experiment under natural sunlight further validates its real-world applicability. This work represents a unique demonstration of plastic upcycling powered solely by sunlight using a plasmonic catalyst, merging broadband light harvesting, hot-carrier chemistry, and Lewis acid catalysis into a unified, sustainable platform for decentralised upcycling of plastic waste.