Waste plastic to energy storage materials: a state-of-the-art review

Recycling plastic waste efficiently and cleanly is one of the key ways to reduce environmental pollution and carbon emissions. At present, the disposal methods for waste plastics mainly include landfill, incineration, photodecomposition, and thermal cracking, which not only cause serious pollution but also are a waste of natural resources. As a high-value-added resource, waste plastics have been widely studied for flame retardants, catalysis, adsorption separation, energy storage, and other material preparation fields in recent years. The use of waste plastic as an energy storage material is one of the highlights. In this study, the research progress on the high-value conversion of waste plastics in the fields of electricity storage materials, heat storage materials, hydrogen energy, and other small molecule fuels in recent years is reviewed in detail. This study provides useful ideas for further research on the comprehensive utilization of waste plastics and reducing carbon emissions.