Influence of fiber surface treatment on mechanical performance of Xanthoceras sorbifolia bunge husk fibers/PP composites

The PP Composites containing Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge husks fibers with different surface treatments were prepared. The mechanical properties such as tensile properties and impact properties of the composites were investigated. It is revealed that the composites with fibers treated by alkali and the following treatments of silane coupling agents KH570, titanate coupling agent JN‐9A, acetic anhydride, MAPP, or bleach, all performed higher in tensile properties than that with untreated fibers, while lower in impact properties. Meanwhile, all treated fibers performed better thermal stability than untreated fibers. The fibers treated by alkali followed by KH570 treatment were added into PP with different contents. It is found that as the fiber content increases, the elastic modulus and impact strength of the composites increase sharply at first followed by a decrease, while the tensile strength decrease initially and increase with a peak at 10%, then decrease continuously. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41217.