Sustainable Approach: Utilizing Plastic Waste-Derived rGO for Multifunctional Thermoplastic Nanocomposites

Presently, the escalating global demand for plastic has led to an alarming rise in waste plastics, posing a significant threat to the environment. Materials like PP, PE, and polystyrene (PS) are identified as key precursors for producing carbon nanomaterials such as CNTs, carbon nanofibers, and graphene Nano sheets (GNs) derived from plastic waste. This study investigates the impact of reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO), derived from plastics waste, on the various properties of polyolefin nanocomposites. This research involved preparing high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with rGO nanocomposites, loading a very low% of rGO varying as 0.025wt%, 0.050 wt%, and 0.075 wt% by using Co-rotating twin-screw extruder and the mechanical, thermal, electrical and morphological properties were assessed using UTM, TGA, Dielectric breakdown tester, and SEM respectively and also compared with the virgin HDPE material.The findings demonstrated that the significant enhancements in tensile strength, flexural strength and modulus were observed at a 0.075% rGO loading, surpassing other compositions. This improvement likely resulted from enhanced stress transfer from the polymer matrix to the nanofiller. TGA analysis revealed that all compositions of HDPE/rGO nanocomposites exhibited higher thermal stability compared to their virgin counterparts. It is due to the rigidity in polymer chains movement because of dispersion of rGO, shows restriction in thermal vibrations of the C–C bond of the HDPE matrix. However, a slight decrease in dielectric strength as the % of rGO increased, due to the induced polarization effect and intrinsic high dielectric constant of rGO. Despite this, these nanocomposites, with their exceptional flexural and tensile properties even at low levels of rGO incorporation, offer cost-effective prospects in plastic industries.