Physical and mechanical properties of wood–plastic composites hybridized with inorganic fillers

Abstract

Hybrid filler-reinforced composites are considered as high performance materials, but limited number of studies on hybridizations of wood fibers and mineral fillers were reported. Three types of inorganic fillers (talc, kaolin, and zinc-borate), which have been widely adopted in various applications, were used for manufacturing wood–plastic composites (WPCs). The aim of this study is to understand the effects of filler shape, size, surface nature, and loading amount on the physical properties of WPCs. Kaolin filler showed the best performance in mechanical strength because of its staked plate shape, small particle size, and highly hydrophilic characteristics of its surface. In water absorption, talc filler showed a lower value than the kaolin case due to the structural difference.