Improving the Interfacial Adhesion of Highly Filled PP—Bagasse Composites Designed by Taguchi Method

Abstract

In the present article, three different types of coupling agents at various concentrations were used to prepare high-content polypropylene/bagasse composites (65—75 wt%). Maleated polypropylene (PP-g-MA), glycidyl methacrylate-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-GMA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS) were chosen as the coupling agent to generate these wood—plastic composites in a lab-scale counter rotating twin-screw extruder. The changes in the morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties were investigated. Morphological studies showed that the fiber dispersion, wetting, and interfacial tension were improved in the presence of PP-g-MA and PP-g-GMA. Flexural properties, impact resistance, and heat deflection temperature of samples increased with incorporation of PP-g-MA and PP-g-GMA. The Cox’s model used to predict the flexural modulus exhibited a good fitting with the experimental data. With increasing coupling agent content; the thermo-mechanical properties of the composites were improved. The compatibilizing effect of PP-g-MA and PP-g-GMA is more obvious than TPS.