Effect of wood flour and compatibilizer on the properties of wood–plastic composites

Abstract

Wood–plastic composites are prepared by melting and mixing wood flour (WF) and thermoplastics, which have green and biodegradable advantages and are of great significance in the development of the era of global resource scarcity. In this work, recycled polypropylene and WF were used as raw materials and commercially available maleic anhydride–grafted polypropylene (MAH-g-PP) was used as a compatibilizer. The extrusion injection-molding method was used and investigated by varying the amounts of WF and compatibilizer added. The composites were analyzed for micromorphology, melt mass flow rate, mechanical properties and thermal stability by scanning electron microscopy, using a melt flow rate tester, using an electronic universal testing machine and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. According to the results, WF shows a positive effect in terms of the storage and loss moduli of the composites, but it shows a negative effect in terms of thermal stability and mechanical properties. As an effective compatibilizer, MAH-g-PP plays an important role in improving the mechanical properties of the composites, particularly at an additional level of 4 wt%, which maximizes the overall performance of the composites.