Preparation of Recycled Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate Nanofibers (r-PET NFS) from Waste Bottles for Electrical Insulation Material

Abstract

In this study, recycled polyethylene terephthalate plastic nanofibers (r-PET NFs) are produced from waste drinking bottles via electrospinning technique to fabricate cost-effective and environment-friendly insulating material for electrical transformer. Nanofibers have an advantage of high surface area that enhance the insulating property of the material. The insulating property of the r-PET NFs alone and oil-impregnated r-PET NFs were investigated using di-electric strength. All parameters of r-PET NFs were optimized for the dielectric strength. The prepared r-PET NFs were more characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water contact angle (WCA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM),) and tensile test. The r-PET NFs showed excellent properties to use as insulating material.