IR STUDIES OF WOOD PLASTIC COMPOSITES

Wood plastic composites (WPC) of simul were prepared by gamma radiatio n using butylacrylate (BA) and methylmethacrylate (MMA) as the monomer and methanol as the swelling agent at 9:1 (v/v) ratio. IR spectra of simul, bulk polymer of BA (or MMA) film, and WPC of different polymer loadings ranging from 18 to 115% were studied. Increase of the charact eristic peak intensity at 1735 cm-1 (C=0 vibration for acetyl groups) over that of 1620 cm-1 (conjugated aryl carbonyl groups) along with th e increase of polymer loading of simul with the monomer indicates that the graft copolymerization took place between the monomer and the sim ul wood matrix. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.