The effect of gamma radiation on the morphology, thermal behavior and mechanical properties of wood polypropylene composites has been investigated. Simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) have been performed on wood polymer composite (WPC) samples of 9.5 ± 0.1 mg. These samples were exposed to different gamma dose in the range 10–100 kGy. The results indicated that gamma radiation improves the mechanical properties while the thermal stability is decreased. With gamma radiation, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the micrographs became smoother and we can notice an improvement of interaction between polymer and wood fibers.

Global ecological concerns have resulted in an interest in renewable natural materials. Composites based on high density polyethylene (HDPE), wood fiber (Veneer) and containing coupling agents like nanoclay (NC) and poly-ethylene-co-glycidyl methacrylate (PEGMA) were made by melt compounding and then injection molding. In this study, the effects of two variable parameters namely nanoclay and coupling agent on the rheological and thermal properties of wood polyethylene composites (WPECs) were investigated. The study investigates the morphology phase, rheology behaviors and thermal properties by scanning electron microscope, capillary rheometer and thermal gravimetric analyzer. The SEM micrographs of the composites showed that the outer surfaces of the wood were coated by a section of amorphous lignin. The state of dispersion in HDPE/pine/clay composites was improved by EGMA because it could interact with pine flour in addition to clay. The interaction of reinforcement with coupling agent and HDPE matrix is strong based on the observation of the fracture surface of composites when EGMA is present. However the addition of 2.5% clay slightly lowered the initial degradation temperature (T d ) but did not improve the thermal stability. Obviously, all the composites materials exhibit viscoelastic values greater than those of neat HDPE.

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The thermal, rheological and morphological properties of composite biomaterials made with mixture of high density polyethylene and typha rod powder (RD) were evaluated. The dynamic mechanical behavior of the samples was studied with 25%, 35% and 45% typha stem powder concentrations. The viscoelastic properties are mainly related to the nature of the polymer and the typha stem powder. Storage (G') and loss (G") moduli increased significantly, depending on the amount of powder in the molten mixture. After a viscosity increase was noticed in low frequency, it decreased in high frequencies, which demonstrates the pseudo-plasticity effect. Morphological and thermal characterization results have shown the dispersion state of the powder and its ability to modify the kinetics crystallization of biocomposites.