Blossom Morphology and Correlative Performance Improvement of Recycled Polyethylene/Wood Flour Composites with Steam-Activated Interfaces

Abstract

Interfacial compatibility plays a key role in the performances of natural fiber-reinforced composites. The measures commonly used to improve the interfacial compatibility focus more on the addition of various compatibilizers than on the structural modification of the natural fiber. In this paper, an attempt was made to enlarge the interfacial interaction areas of the recycled polyethylene (rPE)/wood flour (WF) composites by steaming the WF. Multi-monomer graft copolymers of polyethylene (GPE) were used as compatibilizers for the composites. How the enlarged interfaces affected the morphology, mechanical properties, water resistance, thermal stability, and dynamic rheological properties of the rPE/WF composites was investigated. The steaming process was able to enlarge the voids of the WF and therefore activate more interfaces for interactions. It was found that the interfacial morphology of the composites was affected by the degree of interfacial compatibility of the composites and so was characterized by various distinctive blossom shapes having a variation of compositions. With the help of GPE, the steaming process was able to significantly improve the interfacial compatibility of the composites and therefore improve the mechanical properties, water resistance, thermal stability, and dynamic rheological properties of the composites.

Effect of interfacial modifiers and wood flour treatment on the rheological properties of recycled polyethylene/wood flour composites

“…Moreover, the enlarged space inside WF offered more opportunities for GPE to interact with polar groups and therefore enhanced the interfacial interactions of the composites. 34…”

“…Moreover, the enlarged space inside WF offered more opportunities for GPE to interact with polar groups and therefore enhanced the interfacial interactions of the composites. 34 Effect of WF treatment on the dynamic rheological properties of rPE/WF composites Figure 11(a) to (d) shows the dynamic mechanical properties as a function of frequency (o). The storage modulus (G 0 ) and loss modulus (G 00 ) of the composites increase with the increasing of frequency.…”

Transform Rice Husk and Recycled Polyethylene into High Performance Composites: Using a Novel Compatibilizer to Infiltratively Enhance the Interfacial Interactions

“…These results agree with our previous research. In our previous research, we found that the loadings of GPE did not dramatically increase the viscosity of rPE/ wood flour composites but decrease the loss factor of the composites since GPE could not only significantly enhance the interfacial interactions but also played a plasticizing role in the polymer based composites [33,42]. And such key roles of GPE are also discovered in the following dynamic rheological testing of rPE/RH composites.…”