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Study on the properties of polyethylene–octene elastomer/wood flour blends
Author(s) -
Liao HsinTzu,
Wu ChinSan
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.11858
Subject(s) - materials science , wood flour , differential scanning calorimetry , elastomer , polymer blend , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , polyethylene , miscibility , copolymer , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , octene , scanning electron microscope , compatibilization , polymer , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
In the present study, the properties of metallocene polyethylene–octene elastomer (POE) and wood flour (WF) blends were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), an Instron mechanical tester, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the mechanical properties of POE were obviously lowered, due to the poor compatibility between the two phases, when it was blended with WFs. A fine dispersion and homogeneity of WF in the polymer matrix could be obtained when acrylic acid‐grafted POE (POE‐ g ‐AA) was used to replace POE for manufacture of the blends. This better dispersion is due to the formation of branched and crosslinked macromolecules since the POE‐ g ‐AA copolymer had carboxyl groups to react with the hydroxyls. This is reflected in the mechanical and thermal properties of the blends. In comparison with a pure POE/WF blend, the increase in tensile strength at break was remarkable for the POE‐ g ‐AA/WF blend. The POE‐ g ‐AA/WF blends are more easily processed than are the POE/WF blends, since the former had a lower melt viscosity than that of the latter. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1919–1924, 2003