TITLE:
Morphology, Thermal Behavior and Dynamic Rheological Properties of Wood Polypropylene Composites
AUTHORS:
Diène Ndiaye, Vincent Verney, Haroutioun Askanian, Sophie Commereuc, Adams Tidjani
KEYWORDS:
Morphology; Thermal Behavior; Dynamic Rheological Properties; Wood Polypropylene Composites
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.4 No.11,
November
26,
2013
ABSTRACT: Wood polymer composites (WPCs) were made with pine and polypropylene matrix (PP). The composites were produced by melt blending in a Brabender at 180°C. Characterization of the samples, with the aid of scanning electron microscopy supplemented by microscope photography, showed an improved dispersion of wood in the polymeric material in presence of polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (MAPP) or nanoclay. The use of the MAPP instead of clay seems to have enhanced the level of crystallinity in the composites for the same levels of wood loading and also accelerates the crystallization. Melt rheological measurements of neat PP and PP-wood composites were carried out at 180°C with an ARES Rheometer scientific mechanical spectrometer in oscillatory frequency. All the composites materials exhibit viscoelastic values greater than those for neat PP. The samples containing MAPP as comptabilizer show the higher Newtonian viscosity, however, the addition of a small concentration of nanoparticles like nanoclays does not improve the resulting melt viscoelastic behavior of the composite.