Development and characterization of a new cork-based material

Abstract

The use of cork in polymers is an effective approach to develop new sustainable materials, with the current challenges facing the world regarding on the environmental impact of synthetic polymers. Cork granules are delivered as waste by the industry preparing coating plate and cork ventures. These granules can be used in the preparation of composites, to the reason of their low density. This work presents the preparation of biocomposites resulting from the combination of the poly (ε-caprolactone) with cork (10–30 wt and maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene (MAPE) as compatibiliezr agent. A twin-screw extruder and injection molding are used in order to obtain the tensile samples. The obtained composites were characterized for mechanical and thermal properties, morphology, and water absorption behavior. All composites demonstrated a better dispersion of cork and a solid interfacial bond between the cork particles and the PCL matrices as confirm by SEM. The Young's modulus values of the composites were little affected by a rate of 10% of fillers; but for higher loads, a significant decrease in this parameter was observed, resulting in more flexible materials. The treatment delayed thermal degradation. These attractive performances reveal that sustainable cork based materials proposed in this work could be a good alternative to traditional and could find applications in a number of domains.