Use of Grafted Wood Fibers in Thermoplastic Composites V. Polystyrene

Abstract

Fibrous wood flour¹, the product of attrition or hammer mill grinding of relatively resin-free fibrous soft woods (i.e. pine, fir, spruce), and to a lesser extent hardwood in the form of cellulose fibers, has been used as fillers and reinforcement in polymer composites. In a recent research by Kokta et al.², it has been shown that the use of grafted wood fibers has improved mechanical properties of polystyrene composites as compared with the use of non-grafted substrates. In the research, wood fibers from aspen (hardwood), spruce or balsam fir (softwoods) have been used to fill and reinforce the polystyrene matrice. The effect of fiber modification by the xanthate method of grafting on resulting composite properties has also been studied.