Engineering Single-Atom Catalysts on Conjugated Porphyrin Polymer Photocatalysts via E-Waste for Sustainable Photocatalysis

Abstract

This study presents a surface engineering strategy utilizing electronic waste (e-waste) to incorporate single-atom catalysts on conjugated polymers. Employing a conjugated porphyrin polymeric photocatalyst, gold single-atom-site catalysts are successfully introduced using the acidic metal leachates from e-waste, where metal speciation and composition are regulated during the metal loading processes. The resulting photocatalyst with gold single atoms demonstrates a remarkable hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) selectivity of up to 97.56%, yielding a pure H2O2 solution at 73.3 mu m h-1 under white LED illumination. The produced H2O2 is activated to center dot OH radicals on the same polymer with mixed gold and iron atoms, enabling a photo-Fenton reaction and the complete degradation of toxic microcystin-LR within 10 min under visible light. This study highlights the universal applicability of the metal mining strategy in various photoreactions. It is believed that this discovery pioneers sustainable photocatalysis, allowing the tuning of reactivity and selectivity on photocatalytic surfaces using metal waste. This study utilizes real e-waste to source single-atom catalysts for polymeric photocatalysts, showcasing the potential of tuning surface reactivity and selectivity using metal waste. The resulting gold-loaded photocatalyst exhibits remarkable H2O2 selectivity of up to 97.56%, enabling rapid water disinfection through in situ production and activation. This metal mining strategy proves universally applicable across diverse photoreactions. image