Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Thermally Reversible Covalent Crosslinked Wood-Plastic Composites
1.Institute of Biomass Engineering,Key Laboratory of Energy Plants Resource and Utilization(Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs),South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,Guangdong,China
2.Key Laboratory for Biobased Materials and Energy of Ministry of Education,College of Materials and Energy, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,Guangdong,China
3.The Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids,Ministry of Education,Jiangnan University,Wuxi 214122,Jiangsu,China
To improve the mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites (WPCs), in this study, a thermally reversible covalent crosslinked WPCs (TRC-WPCs) was prepared based on transesterification reaction using wood flour (WF), E-51 epoxy resin, and phthalic anhydride as raw materials through the hot-pressing process. The effects of epoxy/anhydride molar ratio, hot-pressing parameters, and cyclic reprocessing on the mechanical properties of TRC-WPCs were investigated. The optimum molar ratio of epoxy to anhydride was 1∶1. The optimal hot-pressing parameters of TRC-WPCs were as follows: hot-pressing time of 30 min, temperature of 150 ℃, and pressure of 12 MPa. The tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, and flexural modulus of TRC-WPCs prepared with the optimal formulation and hot-pressing process were 47.3 MPa, 9.3 GPa, 79.2 MPa and 8.9 GPa, respectively, which were 282%, 204%, 305%, and 245% higher than those of the WF/HDPE (high-density polyethylene, HDPE) composites with the same WF content. The retention rate of flexural strength and modulus after cyclic reprocessing was 67.8% and 84.2%. The TRC-WPCs can be permanently crosslinked at service temperatures and efficiently plasticized at high temperatures, showing remarkable mechanical properties and reprocessability.
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