Localisation and quantification of potential binding sites for compatibilisers on soft‐ and hardwood in wood–plastic composite systems. (25th October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Effah, Bernard; van Reenen, Albert; Meincken, Martina
• Is Part Of: Surface and interface analysis. Volume 49:Number 6(2017)
• Page Start: 527
• Page End: 532
• Publication Date: 2016-10-25
• Subjects: adhesive force -- chemical force microscopy -- compatibilisers -- force mapping -- wood surfaces -- wood–plastic composites; Surfaces (Physics) -- Periodicals; Surface chemistry -- Periodicals; Thin films -- Periodicals; 541.33
• DOI: 10.1002/sia.6189
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0142-2421

Abstract

Abstract : Chemical force microscopy (CFM) was used to characterise the surface of pine and beefwood with atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips coated with different compatibilisers. With the resulting force images, potential binding sites for compatibilisers, used in wood–plastic composites (WPC) to enhance adhesion between two relatively incompatible phases, were localised and quantified. Tips were coated with two commercially available polymers namely ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and polyethylene‐grafted maleic anhydride (PE‐g‐MA). It could be observed that the interaction forces between the EVOH coated tip and the wood surface was highly species sensitive, whereas adhesive forces measured between the PE‐g‐MA coated tip and the wood surface were comparable for both wood species. The force maps show that wood species differ in the distribution of functional groups, and the force histograms show that the frequency distribution of the adhesive forces varied for the two wood species. The adhesive force maps clearly show a difference between wood/compatibiliser systems, and the differences can be related to the chemical composition of the wood species. The results confirm that not all compatibilisers are equally suitable for all wood species and these results were confirmed by mechanical tensile tests of WPC systems in a related study. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.