Property Improvement and Degradability Control of Polyolefin Based Composites Containing Natural Fibres and Mineral Fillers

Polymer composites based on natural fillers are currently attracting great attention as alternative materials to glass or synthetic fibre reinforced plastics in several applications, mostly for automotive, appliance and packaging products. The main advantage of employing natural fibres is that these are biodegradable and renewable, and exhibit low cost, low density and high toughness. However the low compatibility between fibres and polymer matrix generally leads to weak mechanical performances, limiting the use of these materials. In order to improve the interfacial interactions between the components, surface modification of the fibres and/or polymer functionalization, as well as addition of compatibilizers is required. In the present communication we analyse the effect of reactive compatibilization processes on the morphological, thermal and mechanical properties, as well as the degradation behaviour of composites with isotactic polypropylene (PP) and/or polystyrene (PS) as thermoplastic matrix, and with hemp, cellulose or oat as natural fillers. These systems are then compared to composites reinforced with CaCO3 particles.