Upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate sourced from waste plastic bottles into graphene oxide and its evaluation for CO2 absorption

Abstract The human-made “plastic” resource has turned into an environmental concern for years now. The ideal solution to the problem is still under research. Our research aims to deplete the huge amount of plastic waste on Earth by converting it into a functional material. The carbon chain of this polymer cannot be broken; however, it can be altered into a different category. Plastic waste, specifically PET, was chosen for the experiment and was converted finally into graphene oxide. Catalytic graphitization was used to convert one carbon form into another. The obtained graphene oxide was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The FT-IR and EDS results confirm the synthesis of graphene oxide. The thermal stability and magnetic behavior of graphene oxide are satisfactory. Catalytic behavior toward CO 2 adsorption is a potent application of PETGO. The desorption curve indicates CO2 adsorption on the surface through chemisorption. A high amount of desorbed CO2 indicates a high reaction surface area and electronic interaction.