Thermal Dependence of Young’s Modulus of Wood/Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

The dependence of Young’s modulus on temperature and clay content of polyethylene/clay nanocomposites (PCN) and wood/polymer/clay nanocomposites (WPCN) is investigated. It is found that the moduli of PCN and WPCN vary linearly with temperature within 25 and 80 ° C. The addition of nanoclay in the presence of a maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) compatibilizer blend results in an increase of the modulus and strength of the composites. The Young’s moduli of the PCN and WPCN decrease linearly with increase in temperature.