High-entropy (FeCoNiCuZn)WO₄ photocatalysts-based fibrous membrane for efficient capturing and upcycling of plastic

Catalytic upcycling of plastics is regarded as a promising way to alleviate environmental pollution and produce value-added products, while still facing huge challenges. Herein, we report a feasible strategy for synthesizing high-entropy photocatalysts-based fibrous membranes with a dual function of capturing and upcycling plastic. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers templates enable the growth of highly arranged high-entropy metal tungstates (FeCoNiCuZn)WO₄, denoted XWO₄. The effect of lattice distortion in XWO₄ modulates the band gap structure and contributes to the upshift d-band center of XWO₄. As a result, the modified anti-bonding state facilitates the upcycling of captured polylactic acid (PLA) towards acetic acid production, with an enhanced yield rate of 38.51 mg g⁻¹ cat. h⁻¹ and improved selectivity of 73 %. Thus, the developed NFs template strategy, a tunable electronic structure and exploration of the structure–function relationship provide insight into tailoring the structure and composition of HEMs for photocatalytic upcycling of plastic.