Unlocking opportunities: Supported metal catalysts for the chemical upcycling of waste plastics

Heterogeneous supported metal catalysts have played a pivotal role in modern industrial initiatives dedicated to the chemical upcycling of end-of-life plastics. Leveraging the multifaceted effects of supports to customize the structural features of catalysts constitutes a widely embraced and effective strategy for enhancing catalytic performance. Nonetheless, the nascent field of plastics chemical upcycling lags in progress, primarily attributed to the intricate and versatile nature of these support effects. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research into diverse support effects employed in the context of plastic upcycling. We delve deeply into the structure-performance relationship, scrutinizing key aspects such as metal-support interactions (MSI), promoter effects, support-polymer interactions, and bifunctional catalysis. Finally, we offer a forwardlooking discourse, presenting an outlook for the advancement of heterogeneous catalysts built upon the amalgamation of the identified support effects and exploring potential auxiliary functions of these support materials. This discussion serves to provide essential guidance for the design of multifunctional catalysts with a focus on enhancing the process of plastic upcycling.