Two dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy studies of wood-plastic composites with a copolyamide as matrix

• Published in: Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 923 - 930
• Main Authors: Popescu, M-C, Zanoaga, M, Mamunya, Y, Myshak, V, Vasile, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2007
• ISSN: 1454-4164

The natural polymer/synthetic polymer combination offers an attractive solution to create environmentally friendly degradable materials, which should not have negative effects on the environment. A modern solution to create such of materials consists in using natural fibres as reinforcement agent in composites applicable in various fields as automotive industry, building, etc. Their performance strongly depends on solid reinforcement-polymer matrix adhesion that determines stress transfer between the phases. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra and generalised two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy have been applied to analyse the composition-dependent spectral variations in wood thermoplastic composites, emphasising on components' interactions. In the present work the wood-plastic composites with a copolyamide as matrix and different contents, varying from 30% to 70% of wood chips have been studied. Significant modifications are evidenced in 2800-3600 cm-1 and 800-1800 cm-1 regions. Detailed analysis of the spectra in respect with those of the components and calculated ones indicated that the interaction between wood and copolyamide is relatively strong. The 2D synchronous correlation analysis allows the separation of the bands of wood from those of copolyamide and clearly evidenced new spectral features in composite materials. Moreover, the 2D asynchronous correlation analysis produces cross-peaks those are indicative of the specific interaction or the conformational changes in the blends.