Surface Modification of Wood Fibers with Citric Acid as a Sustainable Approach to Develop Novel Polycaprolactone Based Composites for Packaging Applications

In this work, novel biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) based composites for sus-tainable packaging applications were developed by adding surface-treated wood fibers (WFs). Specifically, WFs were treated with citric acid (CA) to improve the fiber/matrix adhesion and then melt compounded with PCL matrix. The presence of an absorption peak at 1720 cm-1 in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of CA-treated WFs, coupled with the increase in storage modulus and complex viscosity in the rheological analysis, confirmed the occurrence of the esterification reaction between CA and WFs, with a consequent increase in interfacial interaction with PCL matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the cryo-fractured surface of the composites highlighted that PCL was able to wet efficiently the fibers after CA treatment, with limited fiber pull-out. Quasi-static tensile tests showed that composites reinforced with CA-treated wood fi-bers exhibited a significant increase in yield strength (about 30% with a WF amount of 10% at 0 °C), and also a slight improvement in the VICAT softening temperature (about 6 °C with respect to neat PCL). Water absorption tests showed reduced water uptake in CA-treated composites, consistent with the reduced hydrophilicity confirmed by higher water contact angle values. Therefore, the results obtained in this work highlighted the potential of CA-treated WFs as reinforcement for PCL composites, contributing to the development of eco-sustainable and high-performance packaging materials.