One step transformation of waste polyvinyl chloride to tantalum carbide@carbon nanocomposite at low temperature

With the increasing use of plastic products, the environmental pollution has become more and more serious, and it also prompts us to focus on the urgent problem: how do we deal with the waste plastic? This work develops a facile procedure to convert waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into tantalum carbide@carbon, via the chemical reaction of waste PVC, tantalum pentoxide, and metallic lithium in a stainless-steel autoclave at 700 degrees C. The structures, compositions, and morphologies of the as-obtained products have been investigated by X-ray diffraction pattern and electron microscopy. Furthermore, the effect of the reaction temperature on the composition and morphology of the as-obtained products has been investigated. The possible formation mechanism of tantalum carbide has also been briefly discussed.