Plastic bottles upcycled into high-performance supercapacitors

Researchers have developed an innovative method to upcycle poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) from single-use plastic bottles into components for high-performance supercapacitors, devices that rapidly store and release energy. By converting PET into porous carbon electrodes through heating with calcium hydroxide and creating perforated PET film separators, the team produced an all-plastic supercapacitor that outperformed similar devices using traditional glass fiber separators. This approach not only offers efficient and recyclable energy storage solutions but also addresses the global plastic pollution crisis by diverting billions of discarded bottles from landfills and oceans. The PET-based supercapacitor demonstrated comparable capacitance retention (79%) to conventional models (78%) while being cheaper to produce and fully recyclable. Lead researcher Yun Hang Hu emphasized the potential for these PET-derived supercapacitors to find applications across transportation, electronics, and industrial sectors, contributing to circular energy storage technologies. With further optimization, these devices could transition from laboratory prototypes to market-ready products within five to ten years,