Development of bamboo polymer composites with improved impact resistance

Reinforcing thermoplastic polymers with natural fibres tends to improve tensile and flexural strength but adversely affect elongation and impact strength. This limits the application of such composites where toughness is a major criterion. In the present work, bamboo fibre reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared with bamboo fibre content varying from 30% to 50% with improved impact resistance. Homopolymer and copolymer PP were used as the matrix polymer and an elastomer was used (10% by wt.) as an additive in the formulation. Copolymer based composites exhibited superior elongation and impact strength as compared to homopolymer based composites. The adverse impact of elastomer on tensile and flexural strength was more pronounced in homopolymer based composites. The study suggested that the properties of the bamboo composites can be tailored to suit different applications by varying reinforcement and elastomer percentage.