10.57647/jnsc.2025.1502.05

Wasted Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Derived Composite Xerogel with Enhanced Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Photothermal Conversion

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  • Yan Gao1,2,
  • Jingang Xie3,
  • Najla AlMasoud4,
  • Taghrid S. Alomar4,
  • Zeinhom M. El-Bahy5,
  • Hassan Algadi6,
  • Juanna Ren7,
  • Zhanhu Guo8,
  • Chao Yao1,
  • Haoguan Gui1,
  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials and Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
  2. Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of Special Functional Textile Materials, Changzhou Vocational Institute of Textile and Garment, Changzhou 213164, China
  3. Institute of Architectural Engineering, Anhui Vocational and Technical College, Hefei 230011, China
  4. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
  5. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11884, Cairo, Egypt
  6. Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Najran University, Najran, 11001, Saudi Arabia
  7. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China
  8. Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
Wasted Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Derived Composite Xerogel with Enhanced Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Photothermal Conversion

Received: 01-03-2025

Revised: 30-03-2025

Accepted: 20-04-2025

Published in Issue 30-04-2025

Copyright (c) 2025 Yan Gao, Jingang Xie, Najla AlMasoud, Taghrid S. Alomar, Zeinhom M. El-Bahy, Hassan Algadi, Juanna Ren, Zhanhu Guo (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Gao, Y., Xie, J., AlMasoud, N., Alomar, T. S., El-Bahy, Z. M., Algadi, H., Ren, J., Guo, Z., Yao, C., & Gui, H. (2025). Wasted Poly (ethylene terephthalate) Derived Composite Xerogel with Enhanced Electromagnetic Interference Shielding and Photothermal Conversion. Journal of Nanostructure in Chemistry, 15(2 (April 2025). https://doi.org/10.57647/jnsc.2025.1502.05
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Abstract

The wasted poly(ethylene terephthalate) recycling (rPET) presents a critical worldwide challenge requiring  optimization of processing economics and material performance. This study demonstrates the synthesis of hybrid xerogels through thermoreversible gelation using rPET matrices combined with nickel-decorated carbon nanotubes (Ni@CNTs). Investigations focused on the gel formation dynamics within rPET/Ni@CNT systems and structural transformations during xerogel formation. The engineered xerogels displayed hierarchical macroporous architectures supported by interconnected nanofibrous networks, achieving enhanced thermal resilience and mechanical strength. To functionalize these scaffolds, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was chemically grafted to fabricate phase-change composites (PCCs) with multifunctional capabilities. Optimized PCC formulations exhibited synergistic performance metrics: enhanced heat transfer kinetics (1.3±0.32 W/(m·K)), substantial energy storage capacity (125.6 J/g), and reliable thermal cycling stability (zero leakage through 20 meltfreeze cycles). Furthermore, the PCCs exhibited a considerable solar-thermal conversion efficiency (73.4%) and a significative  electromagnetic shielding capacity (30.4 dB). This methodology estab lishes a viable pathway for valorizing post-consumer PET waste into high-performance engineering materials, aligning with circular economy objectives.

Keywords

  • Thermoreversible gelation,
  • Xerogel,
  • Solar-thermal energy conversion,
  • Electromagnetic interference shielding
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