Effects of cellulose fibers in polypropylene composites

Abstract A systematic study of the effect of surface pretreatment of cellulosic fibers and the processing time and temperature on the mechanical properties of the cellulose‐containing polypropylene was undertaken. Using non‐treated fibers, the elastic modulus increased gradually with the cellulose content, typically doubling its value at 30 phr fiber content. Treatment of fibers with coupling agent improves significantly the interfacial adhesion and therefore the mechanical properties of composite. Scanning electron micrographs reveal that the shear stress is sufficiently high to break and delaminate the cellulosic fibers. Addition of maleic anhydride modified polypropylene also improves the properties of resulting composites.