Graphene: A multifunctional additive for sustainability

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how the addition of graphene to a polyethylene resin formulation can allow for a large amount of recycled resin to be used without sacrificing the physical properties of the formu-lation. We investigated the effects of graphene addition on the rheology, thermal and mechanical properties of a prime high-density polyethylene (prime HDPE) with post-industrial recycled HDPE (recHDPE) blends. The vis-cosity and mechanical results, along with scanning electron microscopy analysis suggests that graphene acts as a reinforcing filler, thermal stabilizer, and potential compatibilizer for the blends of prime/recHDPE. The exper-imental findings showed that the addition of graphene resulted in a significant morphology refinement that facilitated replacing up to 50% of a prime HDPE with recHDPE, without compromising the mechanical performance.