Upcycling waste polyethylene into porous chromium carbide (Cr23C6) ceramics at low temperature

In this paper, we have successfully prepared porous chromium carbide ceramics by a facile one-step method. The synthesis reaction is carried out in an autoclave using waste polyethylene as a carbon source. Generally, the as-obtained chromium carbide is characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope. X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the as-obtained sample is cubic phase chromium carbide (Cr23C6). The SEM results show that the sample is composed of porous particles with an average pore size of 200 nm. In addition, the oxidation resistance of the as-obtained Cr23C6 sample was studied by thermogravimetric analyzer. The resource utilization of waste plastic can solve the problems of energy shortage and environment pollution simultaneously to achieve sustainable development.