Effects of Nano-Clay Particles and Oxidized Polypropylene polymers On Improvement of the thermal Properties of Wood Plastic Composite (AOP Paper)

In this study, the effects of oxidized polypropylene, as a compatibilizer, and Nano-clay particles in improving the thermal properties of wood plastic composites are investigated. For this purpose, polypropylene polymer was oxidized in the vicinity of the air oxygen for 2 hours. Then, in order to produce the samples, Nano-clay particles at three levels (%0, %2 and %4) were mixed with wood fibers, polypropylene polymer and the compatibilizer. Finally, the samples with thickness of 2mm and dimensions of 15×15cm were made by using hot press. For more precise investigation, the morphology of wood plastic composites was studied by using X-rays diffraction and electronic microscope images. Thermal properties of the composites were evaluated through thermal and differential analyses. The results of the thermal tests demonstrated that the addition of oxidized polypropylene and Nano-clay particles significantly improve the thermal properties of wood plastic composites. Furthermore, increment of Nano-clay particles content additionally improves thermal stability of the composites and also reduces the released heat amount during the thermal degradation. In addition, TEM images showed that the dispersion of Nano-clay particles in the composite has an intercalation structure. This subject also verified by the X-rays diffraction and it is an evidence of better thermal stability of the achieved wood plastic composites.

本研究探究了作为相容剂（compatibilizer）的氧化聚丙烯（oxidized polypropylene）与纳米黏土颗粒（nano-clay particles）对木塑复合材料（wood plastic composites）热性能的改善效果。为此，将聚丙烯聚合物置于有氧环境中氧化2小时。随后，为制备试样，将含量设为三个梯度（0%、2%、4%）的纳米黏土颗粒与木纤维、聚丙烯聚合物及相容剂共混。最后，采用热压工艺制备出厚度为2mm、尺寸为15×15cm的试样。为开展更精准的表征分析，本研究通过X射线衍射与电子显微镜成像对木塑复合材料的微观形貌进行了研究，并通过热分析与差示分析法对复合材料的热性能进行了表征。热性能测试结果表明，添加氧化聚丙烯与纳米黏土颗粒可显著提升木塑复合材料的热性能。此外，提升纳米黏土颗粒的添加量可进一步改善复合材料的热稳定性，并降低其热降解过程中释放的热量。此外，透射电子显微镜（Transmission Electron Microscope, TEM）成像结果显示，纳米黏土颗粒在复合材料中的分散呈现插层结构。该结论也通过X射线衍射得到了验证，这进一步佐证了所制备木塑复合材料具备更优异的热稳定性。