Functionalization, Compatibilization and Properties of Polyolefin Composites with Natural Fibers

Polymers

Mariano Pracella²  Md. Minhaz-Ul Haque¹ 

[1]Department of Chemical Engineering, Industrial Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Pisa, Pisa 56122, Italy

[2] E-Mail:

[3]Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, IMCB- CNR, Via Diotisalvi 2, Pisa 56122, Italy

关键词: polymer composites;    natural fibers;    functionalization;    compatibilization;    morphology;    physical-mechanical properties;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym2040554

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The article is focused on analyzing the effect of functionalization and reactive processing on the morphological, thermal, rheological and mechanical properties of composites of isotactic polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) (EVA), with cellulose fibers, hemp or oat as natural fillers. Both polymers and fibers were modified with bi-functional monomers (glycidyl methacrylate, GMA; maleic anhydride, MA) capable of facilitating chemical reactions between the components during melt mixing. Polyolefin copolymers containing reactive groups (PP-g-GMA, SEBS-g-MA, PS-co-MA, etc.) were used as compatibilizers. Optical and SEM microscopy, FTIR, RX, DSC, TGA, DMTA, rheological and mechanical tests were employed for the composites characterization. The properties of binary and ternary systems have been analyzed as a function of both fiber and compatibilizer content. All compatibilized systems showed enhanced fiber dispersion and interfacial adhesion. The phase behavior and the thermal stability of the composites were affected by the chemical modification of the fibers. Marked changes in the overall crystallization processes and crystal morphology of PP composites were observed owing to the nucleating effect of the fibers. The tensile mechanical behavior of the compatibilized composites generally resulted in a higher stiffness, depending on the fiber amount and the structure and concentration of compatibilizer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.