Synthesis and characterization of wood flour modified by graphene oxide for reinforcement applications

The performance of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) reinforced with natural fibers can be tailored through a suitable choice of the fibers nature or the type of surface treatment applied to them. The present work deals with the improvement of the interfacial properties of natural fibers, namely wood flour (WF) by the introduction of graphene oxide (GO), which may easily disperse on the WF surface to provide hybrid fibers (WF-GO). The latter were then used as reinforcement of a TPU matrix at different ratios of 1, 3 and 5 wt%. The different samples were characterized by FTIR and RAMAN spectroscopies, XRD, SEM and TGA to confirm the structure, morphology and the thermal stability of the prepared hybrid fibers as well as their composites (TPU/WF-GO). SEM micrographs revealed that the surface treatment applied to WF, the distribution of GO sheets on the fiber interface, and the dispersion of (WF-GO) on the polymer matrix were successfully carried out. The thermal stability of the TPU-base composites increased with the increase of WF-GO content from 325 degrees C for the pure TPU matrix to 343 degrees C for the composite reinforced by 5% of (WF-GO). In addition, the results confirmed that the incorporation of GO into WF led to a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the TPU-based composites, with an improvement in strength from 10.9 MPa to 19 MPa.