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<p>Waste to wealth is a key principle for establishing circular economy, sustainable development, and clean environment. In this paper, we have utilized the barrels of transparent ball-point pens (BPW, ball-point pen waste) as a polymer matrix for the development of high-performance composite materials through an eco-friendly, solvent-free processing technique. ZnO and Zn-exchanged montmorillonite clay functionalized with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (ZnMMA) were individually incorporated into the BPW matrix to fabricate BPW/ZnO-x and BPW/ZnMMA-x composites, where x denotes the weight percentage of ZnO and clay. The successful formation of composites were confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX) analysis. Thermal analysis revealed that all prepared composites exhibited excellent thermal stability up to 380°C, indicating their suitability for applications under elevated temperature conditions. Mechanical characterization showcased a significant enhancement in strength and hardness upon filler incorporation. Especially, BPW with 3.33&#xa0;wt% ZnMMA shows higher mechanical strength with a Rockwell hardness value of 93. The dielectric breakdown measurements for BPW with 1&#xa0;wt% ZnMMA exhibits a high dielectric strength by maintaining its insulation property up to the break down voltage of 5032&#xa0;V/mm, which underscores the importance of prepared composites as key insulating materials. Advantageously, water contact angle (above 92° for ZnMMA composites) and water absorption measurements (weight change due to water absorption of the order of 10<sup>–3</sup>) confirmed the hydrophobic nature of the developed composites, which is beneficial for long-term performance in humid environments. The fruitful combination of excellent thermal stability, enhanced mechanical strength, high dielectric resistance, and hydrophobicity demonstrates the potential of these waste-derived composites as durable and reliable insulating materials for high-voltage electrical engineering applications with significant industrial aptness.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Deciphering the structural and insulation properties of inorganic–organic composites derived from ball point pen barrels

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月27日

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  • S. Malathi Devi,
  • Srinivasan Thamotharan,
  • D. Madhavan,
  • K. Jeyasubramanian,
  • R. Antony

摘要

Waste to wealth is a key principle for establishing circular economy, sustainable development, and clean environment. In this paper, we have utilized the barrels of transparent ball-point pens (BPW, ball-point pen waste) as a polymer matrix for the development of high-performance composite materials through an eco-friendly, solvent-free processing technique. ZnO and Zn-exchanged montmorillonite clay functionalized with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (ZnMMA) were individually incorporated into the BPW matrix to fabricate BPW/ZnO-x and BPW/ZnMMA-x composites, where x denotes the weight percentage of ZnO and clay. The successful formation of composites were confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX) analysis. Thermal analysis revealed that all prepared composites exhibited excellent thermal stability up to 380°C, indicating their suitability for applications under elevated temperature conditions. Mechanical characterization showcased a significant enhancement in strength and hardness upon filler incorporation. Especially, BPW with 3.33 wt% ZnMMA shows higher mechanical strength with a Rockwell hardness value of 93. The dielectric breakdown measurements for BPW with 1 wt% ZnMMA exhibits a high dielectric strength by maintaining its insulation property up to the break down voltage of 5032 V/mm, which underscores the importance of prepared composites as key insulating materials. Advantageously, water contact angle (above 92° for ZnMMA composites) and water absorption measurements (weight change due to water absorption of the order of 10–3) confirmed the hydrophobic nature of the developed composites, which is beneficial for long-term performance in humid environments. The fruitful combination of excellent thermal stability, enhanced mechanical strength, high dielectric resistance, and hydrophobicity demonstrates the potential of these waste-derived composites as durable and reliable insulating materials for high-voltage electrical engineering applications with significant industrial aptness.

Graphical abstract