Polylactide-Pine Woodflour Composites

摘要

Biobased and biodegradable polylactide (PLA)-pine wood flour (PWF) composites were investigated as a means to reduce the overall material cost and tailor material properties. The composites were prepared using a Kinetic-mixer and an injection molding machine. The tensile modulus of the PLA-PWF composites increased with the PWF content whereas the toughness and strain-at-break decreased. The tensile strength remained the same irrespective of the PWF content (up to 40%). The storage modulus increased with the PWF content. Additionally, composites containing PWF treated with silane showed higher storage modulus than those without silane treatment. The area integration underneath the tan δ peaks decreased with increasing PWF, indicating that the PLA-PWF composites exhibited more elastic behavior with increasing PWF. The degree of crystallinity of the PLA-PWF composites increased significantly with the PWF content. Furthermore, the treatment of PWF with silane was found to have a positive effect on its nucleating ability, as treated PLA-PWF composites showed higher crystallinity compared with non-treated counterparts. The morphology of the fracture surfaces were studied using a scanning electron microscope. Finally, a Halpin-Tsai analytical model to predict Young's modulus of PLA-PWF composites has been presented to compare the theoretical results with that of experimental ones.