@Article{jrm.2020.010263,
AUTHOR = {Haiyang Zhou, Xiaoyu Wang, Xiaolong Hao, Qingwen Wang, Rongxian Ou},
TITLE = {Mechanical Properties and Fire Retardancy of Wood Flour/High-Density Polyethylene Composites Reinforced with Continuous Honeycomb-Like Nano-SiO<sub>2</sub> Network and Fire Retardant},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Renewable Materials},
VOLUME = {8},
YEAR = {2020},
NUMBER = {5},
PAGES = {485--498},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/jrm/v8n5/38811},
ISSN = {2164-6341},
ABSTRACT = {The mechanical properties of wood flour/high-density polyethylene
composites (WPC) were improved by adding a small amount of nano-SiO<sub>2</sub> to
obtain a network-structured WPC with a continuous honeycomb-like nano-SiO<sub>2</sub>
network. The wood flour was modified with a fire retardant (a mixture of sodium
octabonate and amidine urea phosphate) to improve its fire retardancy. The flexural properties, creep resistance, thermal expansion, and fire retardancy of the
WPC were compared to a control (WPC<sub>CTRL</sub>) without nano-SiO<sub>2</sub> or fire retardant.
The flexural strength and modulus of the WPC containing only 0.55 wt.% nano-SiO<sub>2</sub> were 6.6% and 9.1% higher than the control, respectively, while the creep
strain and thermal expansion rate at 90°C were 33.8% and 13.6% lower, respectively. The cone calorimetry tests revealed that the nano-SiO<sub>2</sub> network physically
shielded the WPC, giving it lower heat release and smoke production rates. The
thermal expansion was further decreased by incorporating fire retardants into the
WPC, which showed the lowest total heat release and total smoke production and
the highest mass retention. This study demonstrates a facile procedure for producing WPC with desired performances by forming a continuous honeycomb-like
network by adding a small amount of nanoparticles.},
DOI = {10.32604/jrm.2020.010263}
}