Corresponding author.; National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Zhaoxia Huang
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Zhitao Yang
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Guizhen Zhang
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xiaochun Yin
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yanhong Feng
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Hezhi He
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Gang Jin
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Ting Wu
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Guangjian He
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Xianwu Cao
National Engineering Research Center of Novel Equipment for Polymer Processing & Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of the Ministry of Education & Guangdong Key Laboratory of Technique and Equipment for Macromolecular Advanced Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) play central roles in our daily life. However, their immiscibility presents a major hurdle in both industry and academia when recycling them into alloys with favorable mechanical properties. Moreover, typical compatibilizer-enabled approaches are limited due to increased environmental concerns. Herein, inspired by a traditional Chinese technique, we report a facile, industry-scale methodology that produces a PP/PE binary blend with a highly ordered honeycomb nanostructure without any additives. Due to its nanostructure, the blend exhibits enhanced tensile properties in comparison with the parent components or with a sample prepared using an internal mixer. This approach has potential for applications not only in immiscible polymer blending, but also in non-sorting, compatibilizer-free waste plastics recycling. Through this technique, we expect that an environmentally friendly and sustainable plastic wastes recycling avenue can be found, and great economic benefits can be gained.
