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Effect of Matrix–Particle Interfacial Adhesion on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid)/Wood-Flour Micro-Composites

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Abstract

The influence of interfacial matrix/particle adhesion on the mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) micro-composites was investigated. The tensile strength of PLA/wood-flour micro-composites is almost independent of wood-flour content, suggesting only weak adhesion exists between the PLA matrix and the wood-flour particles. The addition of wood-flour resulted in an increase of up to 95% in the tensile modulus, in comparison with pure PLA, which showed a more resilient matrix. The addition of a coupling agent, methylenediphenyl-diisocyanate (MDI) to the composition resulted in an increase in tensile strength and tensile modulus of the micro-composites, of 10 and 135%, respectively, indicating enhanced matrix–particle interfacial adhesion. SEM and electron probe microanalysis provided evidence of improved interfacial adhesion between PLA and wood-flour particles from the addition of MDI. In contrast, addition of PEAA resulted in a micro-composite displaying substantially reduced tensile strength, up to 35% and a slightly increased in impact strength, up to 15%, consistent with the introduction of the rubbery PEAA component into the polymeric matrix. No evidence for increased matrix–particle adhesion was found for the PLA/wood-flour micro-composites containing PEAA.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the members of the Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility at RMIT University for providing access to their SEM facilities for the work on the characterisation of fracture morphology, Mr. Colin MacRae for his assistance with the Electron probe analysis and Dr. Bill Tiganis for his assistance with obtaining the optical microscopy images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Eustathios Petinakis, Long Yu & Katherine Dean

  2. School of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Graham Edward

  3. Centre for Polymers from Renewable Resources, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Hongsheng Liu

  4. CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Andrew D. Scully

Authors
  1. Eustathios Petinakis
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  2. Long Yu
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  3. Graham Edward
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  4. Katherine Dean
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  5. Hongsheng Liu
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  6. Andrew D. Scully
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Correspondence to Long Yu.

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Petinakis, E., Yu, L., Edward, G. et al. Effect of Matrix–Particle Interfacial Adhesion on the Mechanical Properties of Poly(lactic acid)/Wood-Flour Micro-Composites. J Polym Environ 17, 83–94 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-009-0124-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-009-0124-0

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