From Polyethylene to Highly Graphitic and Magnetic Carbon Spheres Nanocomposites: Carbonization under Pressure

Jesica Castelo-Quibén; Luisa M Pastrana-Martínez; Francisco Carrasco-Marín; Agustín F Pérez-Cadenas

doi:10.3390/nano9040606

From Polyethylene to Highly Graphitic and Magnetic Carbon Spheres Nanocomposites: Carbonization under Pressure

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019 Apr 12;9(4):606. doi: 10.3390/nano9040606.

Authors

Jesica Castelo-Quibén¹, Luisa M Pastrana-Martínez², Francisco Carrasco-Marín³, Agustín F Pérez-Cadenas⁴

Affiliations

¹ Carbon Materials Research Group, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071-Granada, Spain. jesicacastelo@ugr.es.
² Carbon Materials Research Group, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071-Granada, Spain. lpastrana@ugr.es.
³ Carbon Materials Research Group, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071-Granada, Spain. fmarin@ugr.es.
⁴ Carbon Materials Research Group, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071-Granada, Spain. afperez@ugr.es.

Abstract

Carbon nanocomposites microspheres were synthesized from Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) by a facile one-step strategy under solvent-free conditions. The synthesis of these materials was carried out in a closed Hastelloy^® reactor at 700 °C. The treatment, during which autogenic pressure was generated, leads to highly graphitic materials with stunning properties, particularly concerning the oxidation resistance (compared to the graphite stability). The metallic doping triggers the growth of nanostructures with diverse morphologies around the spheres, obtaining samples with magnetic properties.

Keywords: carbon microspheres; magnetic composites; metal-carbon nanocomposites.