Catalytic upcycling of polymers
A method of upcycling polymers to useful hydrocarbon materials. A catalyst with nanoparticles on a substrate selectively docks and cleaves longer hydrocarbon chains over shorter hydrocarbon chains. The nanoparticles exhibit an edge to facet ratio to provide for more interactions with the facets.
1. A catalyst comprising:
a SrTiO 3 substrate;
a plurality of metal nanoparticles disposed on the substrate; and
the plurality of metal nanoparticles having a diameter of 1 to 3 nm and a ratio of facets to edges of less than 0.286.
2. The catalyst of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of nanoparticles comprise Pt.
3. The catalyst of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a perovskite having the formula of ABO 3−x where x is in the range 0≤x≤0.5 and A is an alkaline or rare earth element and B is a 3d, 4d, or 5d transition metal element.
4. The catalyst of claim 3 wherein the substrate comprises alumina platelets or alumina spheres.
5. The catalyst of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is porous.
6. The catalyst of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is non-porous.
7. The catalyst of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are a plurality of ordered nanoparticles.