The Effect of Surface-Modification of Wood Powders by Plasma Treatment of Propylene on the Mechanical Properties of Wood Powder/PP Composites

Abstract

Wood powders were surface-modified by plasma-treating propylene to make them compatible with PP matrix in WPC(wood powder composite). The plasma treatment of propylene resulted in the deposition of an ultrathin hydrophobic film which had the chemical structure similar to that of polypropylene. Wood powder and polypropylene were mixed to pellets by twin screw extruder and then 50 wt% wood powder/PP composites were produced by an injection machine. Tensile strength and flexural strength were improved by 7.59% and 12.43% at the maximum respectively. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) observation on the fracture surface revealed that the treatment improved the interfacial bonding and the mechanical properties of the composites.