• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.145-148
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• 2017

Wood powders were surface-modified by plasma-treating propylene to make them compatible with PP matrix in WPC(wood powder composite). The plasma treatment of propylene resulted in the deposition of an ultrathin hydrophobic film which had the chemical structure similar to that of polypropylene. Wood powder and polypropylene were mixed to pellets by twin screw extruder and then 50 wt% wood powder/PP composites were produced by an injection machine. Tensile strength and flexural strength were improved by 7.59% and 12.43% at the maximum respectively. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) observation on the fracture surface revealed that the treatment improved the interfacial bonding and the mechanical properties of the composites.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.418-422
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• 2024

Polypropylene (PP)/CNF composites containing 3, 7, and 10 phr of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) were manufactured using a twin-screw extruder. CNF was introduced in the form of powder or master batch (MB) into ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer (EEA), and maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-MAH) was used as a compatibilizer. The results of measuring the tensile strength and flexural strength showed that the degree of improvement in the mechanical properties of the PP/CNF composites applied with the compatibilizer was the greatest. This was confirmed by the morphological analysis of SEM, which was due to the increased compatibility between PP and CNF. It was confirmed that the complex viscosity of the PP/CNF composite in the low frequency range was higher than that of pure PP, but there was no significant difference in processing characteristics due to the increase in shear thinning phenomenon.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.275-282
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• 2021

High-molecular-weight maleic anhydride-grafted polylactic acids (HMMA-g-PLA) compatibilizers were prepared by melt grafting in a twin screw extruder using di(tert-butyl-perxoyisopropyl)benzene (PK-14; as initiator), maleic anhydride (MA), and divinylbenzene (DVB). To determine the properties of the prepared HMMA-g-PLA compatibilizers, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Melt index (MI), and back-titration analyses were performed. On increasing DVB concentration, grafting yield of HMMA-g-PLA increased but MI decreased because 𝛽-scission of PLA was restrained by the DVB, and thus, the molecular weight of HMMA-g-PLA increased. PLA-based wood-plastic composites (WPCs) were prepared using HMMA-g-PLA by melt blending through a single screw extruder. The flexural and impact strengths of WPCs compatibilized with HMMA-g-PLA were greater than those of WPCs produced without HMMA-g-PLA. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies indicated that increased mechanical properties were caused by excellent interfacial adhesion between PLA and wood fibers due to the addition of HMMA-g-PLA. However, rather high contents of HMMA-g-PLA reduced the mechanical properties of WPCs. We believe that lower molecular-weight of HMMA-g-PLA added as an compatibilizer, compared with PLA polymer, caused the reduction of mechanical properties.