This research provides a new insight on various properties, such as rheological, mechanical, and flame-retarding properties, as well as the foaming behaviors of wood flour /plastic composites (WPCs) through the addition of a small amount of nanosized clay particles. Although WPCs have replaced natural wood in many applications, their industrial usage has been limited because of their weak modulus, low impact strength, low screwing-ability/nailing-ability, high density compared to natural wood, as well as their flammability compared to plastics. In this context, the incorporation of nanoclay and foam structure into WPC has been studied to dramatically alleviate these drawbacks.

The melt blending method was used to prepare different types of clay-filled wood flour composites such as intercalated and exfoliated clay nanocomposites. The effects of key processing variables such as the mixing time, mixing temperature and screw speed on clay dispersion were investigated from the thermodynamic and kinetic point of view. Their nanostructure was determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Accordingly, effective strategies for controlling intercalation and exfoliation of polyolefin/clay nanocomposites were proposed and evaluated.

Wood flour composites with high levels of clay dispersion were synthesized successfully using a general new route (i.e., maleated-polyolefin-based clay masterbatch and dilution). The effects of nanoclay particles on the rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties were identified. In addition, it was demonstrated that a small amount of well-dispersed nanoclay in WPC significantly improved flame retardancy of WPCs. The mechanism of improved flame-retarding effects on nanoparticles was elucidated as well. The relationship between the clay dispersion and the material properties were also clarified. Furthermore, the foaming behaviors of HDPE-based and PP-based wood flour/nanoclay composites were investigated using N2 as the blowing agent in an extrusion process. The cell nucleation and growth behaviors of wood flour/polyolefin/clay composite foams were elucidated while varying the temperature, pressure, wood flour content, clay content and dispersion degrees.