Characterization of Epoxy/Nanoclay Wood Polymer Nanocomposites (WPNCs)

From the present work, the fabrication of epoxy/MMT wood polymer nanocomposites (WPNCs) was investigated. From FT-IR characterization, it confirmed the C–O stretch of C–O–H in starch at 1232 and 1182 cm⁻¹ as well as the C–O stretch of C–O–C in starch at 1029 cm⁻¹ with the decreasing wave number. This proved that raw wood was well impregnated by epoxy/MMT. In addition, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) proved that WPNCs were more thermally stable over temperature compared to raw wood due to the high impact of montmorillonite (MMT) on wood. The stiffness, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and modulus of rupture (MOR) were significantly increased on WPNCs of Eugenia spp., Xylopia spp., Artocarpus Rigidus, and Artocarpus Elasticus compared with raw wood. From X-ray diffraction patterns, the addition of epoxy/MMT improved the crystallinity of WPNCs at the amorphous region. SEM analysis showed that the void space in raw wood was fully filled with epoxy/MMT, and the waxy substances were removed. It could be concluded that epoxy/MMT was significantly effective on Eugenia spp., followed by Xylopia spp., Artocarpus Rigidus, and Artocarpus Elasticus, respectively.