A study of transcrystallinity in polypropylene in the presence of wood irradiated with gamma rays

The interest in lignocellulosic composites has been growing in recent years because of their specific properties. In this study, a new technique of wood treatment using gamma-irradiation was used. This research focuses on the influence of the gamma irradiation on the chemical composition of wood and on the nucleation ability of polypropylene matrice. The inner morphology of the transcrystalline layer was investigated using hot stage optical microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the kinetic parameters of polypropylene crystallization in the presence of wood surface. The results showed that the gamma irradiation can decrease the content of the cellulose in the wood, but it has a slightly negative effect on the transcrystallization process of polypropylene. This treatment also affects the crystal conversion and the half-time of PP crystallization. These results suggested that the gamma irradiation of wood may play a useful role in changing the microstructure of the matrice near the wood. It was observed that the nucleation of the wood surface was selective, indicating that the chemical characteristics of the lignocellulosics might have influence on the polypropylene crystallization. A possible mechanism for the appearance of transcrystallinity involving chemical composition of lignocellulosic is also proposed.