High-performance wood-reinforced crosslinked high-density polyethylene composites

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the manufacturing of high-performance wood-crosslinked high-density polyethylene composites (WxHDPEC). In particular, the effect of maleated polyethylene (MAPE) treatment and concentration (0-50 wt%) of maple wood fibers is investigated. The samples were produced via dry-blending followed by compression molding and a set of characterization was performed including chemical, morphological, mechanical, thermal, and physical properties. The gel content was found to increase with increasing wood fiber content, while the surface modification significantly improved the tensile strength (11%), tensile modulus (298%), flexural strength (138%), and flexural modulus (81%). Thermal analyses also showed improved thermal stability and higher thermal resistance for the treated composites. Finally, the Shore D hardness increased by 11.0 (from 61.5 to 72.5) and 12.1 (from 61.5 to 73.6) points, while the Shore A hardness increased by 7.5 (from 91.5 to 99.0) and 8.1 (from 91.5 to 99.6) points for the untreated and treated composites, respectively. These improvements are attributed to effective adhesion between MAPE-treated wood fibers and the xHDPE matrix. The findings not only advance our understanding of these complex materials but also provide alternatives for various applications from construction to automotive engineering.Highlights High-performance wood-reinforced crosslinked high-density polyethylene was produced. The effect of maleated polyethylene (MAPE) treatment and maple wood fibers was studied. Higher crosslink density in MAPE-treated wood-xHDPE was obtained. Wood-crosslinked high-density polyethylene composites have better properties. The properties of crosslinked polyethylene can be improved by adding wood particles. The improvements are higher when surface-treated particles are used via maleated polyethylene. image