New catalyst improves plastic upcycling efficiency tenfold versus platinum

University researchers report that a specific phase of tungsten carbide enabled hydrocracking of polypropylene with more than tenfold laboratory efficiency compared with platinum, and they developed reactor and optical temperature methods to control phases and measure catalyst surface temperatures.

Tungsten carbide, an Earth‑abundant material already used in industrial tools, has been adapted by researchers to act as a catalyst in reactions typically served by platinum. A team led by Marc Porosoff at the University of Rochester developed methods to control the atomic phases of tungsten carbide inside high‑temperature reactors and applied optical techniques to measure temperatures at catalyst surfaces. They identified a particular phase, β‑W2C, that showed strong performance in converting carbon dioxide and in laboratory tests breaking down polypropylene. The studies were published across ACS Catalysis, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and EES Catalysis. Key findings: - Researchers used temperature‑programmed carburization at temperatures above 700 °C to form specific tungsten carbide phases directly inside reactors and then tested their catalytic activity. - The β‑W2C phase was reported as especially active for reactions that convert carbon dioxide into chemical building blocks. - In hydrocracking experiments on polypropylene, tungsten carbide catalysts were reported as more than ten times as efficient as platinum catalysts and are based on a more abundant material. - Optical temperature measurements showed that bulk reactor readings can differ from catalyst surface temperatures by roughly 10–100 °C, a discrepancy that can affect reproducibility and the coupling of tandem reactions. - The ACS Catalysis work was supported by the Sloan Foundation and the Department of Energy; the JACS study received National Science Foundation funding; and the EES Catalysis study was funded by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through the Carbontech Development Initiative. Summary: The studies show that phase control of tungsten carbide and more precise surface temperature measurements can substantially affect catalytic behavior in laboratory tests. Researchers say further industrial optimization would be needed for broader use and scale‑up, and the timeline for that development is undetermined at this time.