A Study on the Phase Separation and Mechanical Properties of Wood Flour-Polypropylene Composites

The phase separation in Wood Flour-Polymer Composite (WPC) was investigated and the reasons for change in mechanical properties with the content of wood flour were explored. The wood flour-polypropylene composite samples with different wood flour contents were prepared. From differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms of WPC samples, the trend of crystallinity and melting temperature (T-m) were analyzed. The crystallinity and melting temperature increased and then decreased as the content of wood flour increased. From these results, it was confirmed that at the low wood flour content the wood flours were dispersed into the polypropylene matrix but at the high wood flour content, the phase separation between polymer and wood flour phases appeared. The tensile strength of WPC samples was continuously decreased with the increase of wood flour content. At a low wood flour content, the low interfacial bonding and the decrease in crystallinity were the main reasons for the decrease in tensile strength with the increase of wood flour content. At a high wood flour content, the decrease in tensile strength resulted from the interfacial defects between the polymer and wood flour phases. The impact strength of the WPC sample showed the maximum behavior with the content of wood flour. At a low wood flour content, the impact strength was enhanced owing to the decrease in brittleness, which results from the decrease in crystallinity. At a high wood flour content, however, the impact strength decreased due to phase separation.