• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2009

We investigated effects of a compatibilizer on the rheological properties during mixing and thermal properties of polypropylene (PP)-natural fiber composites. Two types of natural fibers (cotton fiber and wood fiber) were compared. maleic anhydride grafted PP was used for a compatibilizer. On increasing the amounts of the compatibilizer, the torque values of composites were increased, regardless of the kind of fibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed a slight increase in the degree of crystallinity with adding the compaibilizing agent, while the effects of the kind of fibers were marginal. It may be considered, however, the cotton fiber exhibits better interaction with PP-g-MAH than the natural fiber based on the rheographs, DSC, and XRD results.