Wood fibers vary in their properties across species, across trees of the same species, and within single trees. This work takes advantage of wood fibers reinforcing poly(lactic acid) composites that originate from different tissue types of the species Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). Fibers were prepared with high temperature thermo-mechanical processing (TMP) from juvenile, mature, and compression wood tissues of Sitka spruce. Composites were made by solution casting with subsequent hot-pressing. Thermal as well as mechanical properties were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and tensile testing. The obtained results showed that the chemical and physical properties of different tissue-type Sitka spruce fibers have significant effects on the thermal and mechanical properties of the Polylactic acid (PLA)/ Sitka fiber composites. To increase interfacial compatibility between the hydrophilic fibers and the hydrophobic polymer matrix, the fibers were treated with vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMO), while PLA was modified with 4,4-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). It was found that PLA/Sitka composites treated with VTMO and MDI exhibited improved thermal and mechanical properties, compared to the unmodified control. The work also demonstrates that there is potential to improve biobased composites by utilizing the natural variability of wood fibers.
Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a biodegradable polymer from the polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolyester class, was filled with 20% beech wood flour (WF) to form completely biodegradable films. In the present study, the influence of surface modification of wood flour was investigated on the interfacial adhesion of PHB/WF composites. In addition to a hydrothermal pretreatment, sodium hydroxide and stearic acid were used as surface modifiers. Direct measurement of interfacial adhesion was carried out by mechanical testing and dynamic mechanical analysis. Thermal properties, degree of crystallinity of PHB/WF composites were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Effects of sodium hydroxide and stearic acid treatment on the adhesion of PHB/WF interface were feeble when no hydrothermal pretreatment was applied. Nevertheless, surface modifiers applied on hydrothermally pretreated WF significantly improved the WF/PHB interface adhesion.
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