Preparation and Mechanical Properties of High-Performance Short Ramie Fiber-Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Short ramie fiber (RF) was used to reinforce the polypropylene (PP). The composites were prepared in a twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The experimental results showed that both the strength and the modulus of the composites increase considerably with increasing RF content. The tensile strength and flexural strength are as high as 67 and 80 MPa by the incorporation of ramie up to 30 wt %. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the best results for short natural fiber-reinforced PP composites. However, the preparation method in this study is more simple and economic. This short RF-reinforced PP composites extend the application field for short-nature fiber-reinforced PP composites. Morphological analysis revealed that it is the high aspect ratio of the fiber and good interfacial compatibility that result in the high performance of the composites. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 1564-1571, 2011