Surface modification of wood fibers using maleic anhydride and isocyanate as coating components and their performance in polystyrene composites

The effect of surface modification of various wood fibers [e.g. woodflour and chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) of hardwood aspen, and woodflour of softwood spruce] by precoating with only maleic anhydride (MA) and/or poly[methylene (polyphenyl isocyanate)] (PMPPIC) in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) on the mechanical performance of modified fiber-filled polystyrene (PS 201 and PS 525) composites has been studied. The effects of the concentration of fiber, MA, PMPPIC, and BPO on the mechanical properties of the composites have also been evaluated. As opposed to unmodified fiber-filled composites, most of the mechanical properties of the modified fiber-filled composites increased with an increase in the concentration of BPO, MA, and/or PMPPIC up to a certain limit, and then either decreased or levelled off. The properties improved even more when both MA and PMPPIC were used as compared with the use of only one of them. The optimum concentrations of BPO, MA, PMPPIC, and fiber vary according to the wood species, the nature of the fiber, and the type of polystyrene. Compared with woodflour, CTMP is believed to be by far the best as far as the mechanical properties of the modified fiber-filled composites are concerned.