Investigation of the morphology and properties of the polypropylene/low-density polyethylene/wood powder and the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene/low-density polyethylene/wood powder polymer blend composites

Abstract

The properties of polypropylene/low-density polyethylene and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene/low-density polyethylene blends, and their wood powder composites are compared in this study. The blends contained equal amounts of polymers, and the wood powder was added into the blends to form polypropylene/low-density polyethylene/wood powder and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene/low-density polyethylene/wood powder ternary systems. The Fourier-transform infrared analysis of the blends and composites did not provide any evidence of significant interactions between the different components, although the rest of the results clearly showed that maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene and wood powder significantly interacted, and that there was some interaction between maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene and low-density polyethylene. The differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis results confirmed the immiscibility of polypropylene and low-density polyethylene, and polypropylene and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene, and indicated that wood powder was distributed in both the low-density polyethylene and polypropylene phases in the polypropylene/low-density polyethylene blend, but most probably only in the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene phase in the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene/low-density polyethylene blend. The polypropylene/low-density polyethylene and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene/low-density polyethylene blends were found to be more thermally stable than the neat polymers, while the presence of wood powder in both polymer blends further increased the thermal stability of the polymers. The blends and composites with maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene showed higher tensile modulus values and lower elongation at break values than the composites with polypropylene, while the stress at break values of the two sets of samples were comparable.

Quantifying effects of compositional variations on microstructural properties of polypropylene-wood fiber composites by melt rheology and tensile test data

“…Many studies have been reported on the thermal, mechanical, and water absorption properties of WPCs depending on the compositional parameters. 16–25 But, melt-state rheological properties of WPCs have been less studied so far compared to their solid-state physical properties. 26–30 Kaseem et al.…”

Enhanced Compatibility, Morphology, and Low-Temperature Toughness of Polyamide 6/Poly(dimethylsiloxane)/Epoxidized Silicone Rubber Composites

“…Therefore, elastomers must be altered to strengthen their adhesion to PA6 and increase the composite’s notch impact strength. Currently, the most popular method for toughening PA6 involves the addition of active groups, such as maleic anhydride, − and epoxy groups − to rubber elastomers, which then react with PA6 terminal amino or carboxyl groups to produce block or graft copolymers and compatibilize in situ.…”

Effect of Hollow Glass Microspheres with Different Contents and Types on Properties of Polypropylene Composites

“…Although pure PP can be used as thermal insulation and sound insulation materials, the mechanical properties are not sufficiently high for many applications. [20][21][22] In this regard, PP is usually filled with rigid inorganic particles, such as talc, [20] glass microspheres [23] or calcium carbonate, [24] fibers, [25][26][27] wood powder, [28,29] and rubber particles [30] to further enhance the mechanical properties. After the addition of hemp wood fibers to polypropylene, the modulus and water absorption of the composites were enhanced, without mentioning the analysis of the density.…”