Toughening wood/polypropylene composites with polyethylene octene elastomer (POE)

Abstract

Polyethylene octene elastomer (POE) as impact modifier was incorporated into wood/polypropylene composites (WPC) to enhance the impact strength of the composite. Two extruding routes, i.e. direct extruding route and two-stage extruding route, were adopted to produce Wood Powder/PP/POE ternary composites. The mechanical and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of POE can increase the impact strength of the composites, and the composites produced via two-stage extruding route showed superior mechanical properties. The results of the DMA confirmed the mechanical tests.

Keywords

Wood Powder / Polyethylene Octene Elastomer (POE) / Polypropylene / Impact strength / Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA)

References

[1] Bartczak Z., Argona A.S., Cohen R.E., Weinberg M. Toughness mechanism in semi-crystalline polymer blends: I. High-density polyethylene toughened with rubbers [J]. Polymer, 1999, 40: 2331-2346.

[2] Cantero G., Arbelaiz A., Mugika F., Valea A., Mondragon I. Mechanical behavior of wood/polypropylene composites: effects of fiber treatments and ageing processes [J]. J. Rein. Plas & Comp., 2003, 22(1): 37-50.

[3] Lim J.W., Hassan A., Rahmat A.R., Wahit M.U. Mechanical behavior and fracture toughness evaluation of rubber toughened polypropylene nanocomposites[J] Plastics, Rubber and Composites, 2006, 35(1): 37-46.

[4] Lundquist L., Marque B., Hagstrand P.O., Leterrier Y., Manson J.A.E. Novel pulp fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites [J]. Comp. Sci. & Tech., 2003, 63(1): 137-152.

[5] Qin T., Huang L., Li G. Effect of chemical modification on the properties of wood/polypropylene composites [J]. Journal of Forestry Research, 2005, 16(3): 241-244.

[6] Utracki, L.A., Khanh, T.Vu, Miles, I.S., Rostami, S. 1992. Multicomponent polymer systems. Polymer Science and Technology Series.

[7] Wahit M.U., Hassan A., Mohd I.Z.A., Abu B.A. The effect of polyethylene-octene plasterer on the morphological and mechanical properties of polyamide 6/polypropylene nanocomposites [J]. Polymer & polymer composites, 2005, 13(8): 795-805.

[8] Zhang X., Xie F., Peng Z., Zhang Y., Zhang Y., Zhou W. Effect of nucleating agent on the structure and properties of polypropylene/poly(ethylene-octene) blends [J]. Euro. Poly. J., 2002, 38: 1-6.