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Rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of flax fiber polypropylene composites: influence of compatibilizers

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Abstract

In this work, the rheological, mechanical and morphological properties of flax fiber polypropylene composites were investigated. The effect of incorporating a polypropylene grafted acrylic acid or a polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride on these properties has been studied as well. According to scanning electron microscopic observations and tensile tests, the addition of a compatibilizer improved the interfacial adhesion between the flax fibers and the polymer matrix. The tensile modulus of composite containing 30 wt% flax fibers was improved by 200 % and the tensile strength improved by 60 % in comparison with the neat PP. Plasticizing effect of the compatibilizers as a result of their lower melt flow index was also shown to decrease the rheological properties of the composites, even though the effect was not pronounced on the mechanical properties.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for funding. They also thank Gilles Ausias from Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Matériaux de Bretagne (LIMATB) for providing the flax fibers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Research Center for High Performance Polymer and Composite Systems (CREPEC), Polytechnique Montreal, C.P. 6079, succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3A7, Canada

    Helia Sojoudiasli, Marie-Claude Heuzey & Pierre J. Carreau

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  1. Helia Sojoudiasli
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  2. Marie-Claude Heuzey
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  3. Pierre J. Carreau
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Correspondence to Pierre J. Carreau.

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Sojoudiasli, H., Heuzey, MC. & Carreau, P.J. Rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of flax fiber polypropylene composites: influence of compatibilizers. Cellulose 21, 3797–3812 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0375-3

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