Influence of Viscosity-interface Modifier Interactions on Performance and Processability of Rice Hull PE Composites

Abstract Interface modifiers and viscosity modifiers are added to wood plastic composites to improve interfacial adhesion and processing rate respectively. However, because of the chemically reactive nature of interface modifiers and viscosity modifiers, there is a high possibility of interactions between them, influencing the mechanical properties and processabilty of the composites. To evaluate this point, interactions between three different interface modifiers and a viscosity modifier were investigated in this study. Concurrently, the effectiveness of three different interface modifiers in improving mechanical properties of the composites was also studied. The results indicated that there was a significant improvement in the tensile strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus and impact properties of the composites with all the three maleated polyethylene based coupling agents. Moreover, presence of an amide carboxylic acid based viscosity modifier along with a maleated polyolefin based interface mo...