Modulate adsorption via Co(2+)-O-Co(δ+) asymmetric pairs toward efficient upcycling of plastic waste to commodity chemicals.

Asy-Co2+-O-Coδ+ cobalt oxide electrocatalysts achieve 96.12% Faradaic efficiency and 93.75% selectivity for formic acid from polyethylene terephthalate hydrolysate.

• Why it matters: Hydroxyl species are needed for C–C bond cleavage during ethylene glycol oxidation, but too much or competing hydroxyl adsorption can block ethylene glycol activation and hinder formic acid formation.
• What they did: The team engineered crystal boundaries to create asymmetric Co2+-O-Coδ+ bridged sites, using Co2+ to favor hydroxyl adsorption and Coδ+ to strengthen ethylene glycol affinity, lowering the barrier to formic acid.
• The result: Under membrane electrode assembly conditions, Asy-Co2+-O-Coδ+ reached 1000 mA cm−2 and maintained competitive stability across multiple polyethylene terephthalate hydrolysate electrolysis cycles, supporting efficient plastic upcycling.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.