Improving thermo‐oxidative degradation resistance of bamboo fiber reinforced polymer composites with antioxidants. Part II: Effect on other select properties

Abstract

The first of this two‐article study showed that the addition of antioxidants can significantly improve the thermo‐oxidative resistance of bamboo fiber reinforced polypropylene composites (BFPCs). In this article, the effect of antioxidants on water absorption, thermal stability, crystallinity, and the dynamic mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of antioxidants resulted in a slight increase in water absorption, but this increase can be reduced by controlling the ratio of the primary and secondary antioxidants. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of composites also slightly increased. However, the effects of antioxidants on the crystallinity as well as other thermal properties of BFPCs were small or even insignificant. The different combinations, ratios, and the adding amounts of antioxidants show tiny differences for all these properties. As a whole, the addition of minor antioxidants in the bamboo fiber (BF) polymer composites will not produce obvious negative effects on their overall performances. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44199.

Characterization of mechanical and thermal properties of esterified lignin modified polypropylene composites filled with chitosan fibers

“…The crystallinity of composites ( X c ) was manually calculated using equation (1)where, Δ H f is the heat of fusion of the PP and composites, and Δ H f ° is the thermodynamic heat of fusion of fully crystalline PP (209 J/g). 22 A mean value of three samples of each specimen was recorded.…”

“…where, ΔH f is the heat of fusion of the PP and composites, and ΔH f °is the thermodynamic heat of fusion of fully crystalline PP (209 J/g). 22 A mean value of three samples of each specimen was recorded. The morphology of the tensile fracture surface of the PP/chitosan composites was investigated with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), JEOL model JSM 6260 LE.…”