Physical properties of PVC/aminosilane‐treated wood flour/organoclay composites

Most physical properties of a wood plastic composite (WPC) with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix are lower than those of corresponding neat PVC because of poor interfacial adhesion between hydrophobic PVC and hydrophilic wood. In this study, to improve the interfacial adhesion, wood flour was pre‐treated with N‐2(aminoethyl)‐3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, and the surface modification was characterized and confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, to improve the performance of PVC/wood composites, a type of organoclay was added as nanofiller. PVC/wood/clay composites were prepared by melt blending a heavy metal‐free PVC compound, the aminosilane‐treated wood flour, and the organoclay, and their physical properties were tested by universal testing machine and thermal gravimetric analyzer. X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) analyses of the WPCs showed an intercalated structure of the organoclay. The scanning electron microscope images for the fracture surfaces of the WPCs confirmed the positive effect of the aminosilane pre‐treatment by showing reduced debonding of wood flour from the PVC matrix. The performance of the WPCs was improved by the aminosilane pre‐treatment of the wood flour and the organoclay. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.