Glass fiber-reinforced PP composites compatibilized with maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) were compounded with a twin-screw extruder and injection molded. The composite specimens were subjected to DSC, DMA, tensile, and flexural property characterizations. DSC results showed that the presence of glass fiber loading and MAPP produced insignificant effect on the melting temperature of the composites. The melting enthalpy was decreased with glass fiber loadings, but no significant change was noted in the crystalline peak temperatures (T c ). Incorporation of the compatibilizer led to a reduction in T c . Incorporation of glass fiber reduced the crystalline enthalpy of compatibilized and uncompatibilized systems. DMA results showed that composite properties were affected by the presence of the compatibilizer at low fiber loading ( 14% V f ). Tensile and flexural properties also showed sensible improvement of compatibilized against uncompatibilized composite systems.

Hybrid composites of PP/NC/GF were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Molded specimens were analyzed by XRD, SEM, and TEM, together with characterization of thermal and mechanical properties. XRD results revealed that the interaction between NC particles and the PP matrix results in intercalation of the polymer chains, which increases the clay interlayer distance. TEM results revealed NC particle intercalation. TGA results showed that the incorporation of clay into the GF composite improves the thermal stability of the material. The initial thermal decomposition temperatures also shifted to higher values. Incorporation of GF into PP lowers the tensile strength of the binary composite, indicating poor fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion; however, introducing NC increased the strength of the ternary composites. Tensile modulus was enhanced with the incorporation of GF and further increased with an introduction of NC. Flexural strength and flexural modulus are both enhanced with an increase in fiber loading. The addition of clay nanoparticles further improved these properties.

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Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) was heat treated at 180°C using a vacuum oven for one hour, extruded and compounded with high-density polyethylene at 10%, 20% and 30% weight fraction. The composites then were injection moulded into dumb-bell shaped specimens. The effect of composition and heat treatment on the thermal properties of composites were investigated using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The tensile and flexural properties were also tested using an Instron Universal Testing Machine. TGA shows an increase in the degradation peak temperature of the heat-treated composites. DSC revealed an increasing trend in the degree of crystallinity (X c ) of the matrix as the heat-treated empty fruit bunch was used as a filler. An increment in the tensile modulus and tensile strain were observed for the treated fibre composites. In addition, the tensile strength value was increased for treated fibre composites with lower fibre loading.

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