Development and characterization of a new cork-based material Chadia Ihamouchen ⇑ , Hocine Djidjelli, Amar Boukerrou Laboratory of Advanced Polymers Materials, Faculty of Technology, University of Bejaia, 06000 Bejaia, Algeria article info Article history: Received 7 April 2020 Received in revised form 29 April 2020 Accepted 4 May 2020 Available online xxxx Keywords: Biocomposite Cork Poly(e-caprolactone) Mechanical properties Sustainable materials abstract The use of cork in polymers is an effective approach to develop new sustainable materials, with the cur- rent challenges facing the world regarding on the environmental impact of synthetic polymers. Cork granules are delivered as waste by the industry preparing coating plate and cork ventures. These granules can be used in the preparation of composites, to the reason of their low density. This work presents the preparation of biocomposites resulting from the combination of the poly (e-caprolactone) with cork (10– 30 wt and maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene (MAPE) as compatibiliezr agent. A twin-screw extruder and injection molding are used in order to obtain the tensile samples. The obtained composites were characterized for mechanical and thermal properties, morphology, and water absorption behavior. All composites demonstrated a better dispersion of cork and a solid interfacial bond between the cork par- ticles and the PCL matrices as confirm by SEM. The Young’s modulus values of the composites were little affected by a rate of 10% of fillers; but for higher loads, a significant decrease in this parameter was observed, resulting in more flexible materials. The treatment delayed thermal degradation. These attrac- tive performances reveal that sustainable cork based materials proposed in this work could be a good alternative to traditional and could find applications in a number of domains. Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Network of Biomaterials and Engineering Science. 1. Introduction The growing sensitivity to the environment protection, to the inevitable depletion of fossil resources and the recent laws against pollution due to the production of petroleum-based synthetic materials, have led to the development of bio-based composite materials [1]. In nature, there are several types of vegetable fibers with high potential to reinforce the properties of many polymers [2,3]. The main drawback of using natural-based components such as lignocellulosic materials is their hydrophilicity due to the high concentration of the hydroxyl group, which results in poor inter- face and moisture resistance. However it is possible to use different reinforcement strategies that improve the compatibility, either by using coupling agents [4], or by chemically modifying the fiber sur- face[5]. Despite these constantly improved processing techniques for natural fiber composites, still the relatively high price is often the main obstacle. A solution to this problem may be the use of agro-food industry waste or agricultural by-products which can be beneficial for the environment, and the economy. Research in this field is currently carried out on a very large scale and covers a very wide range of fillers [6,7]. Nevertheless, in the vast field of composite materials, an increasing interest for the use of biodegradable thermoplastic matrices has been witnessed in the last decade [8,9]. Among these biodegradable polymers, the poly (e-caprolactone) (PCL) which is obtained by chemical ring opening process of the monomer e-caprolactone has seen its marketing steadily increasing over the years[10]. Research and development on cork and cork by-products is essential in strategy of promotion and in the valorization of this waste. The cork is part of the epider- mis in the outer bark that covers the branches of the cork oak, known botanically as Quercus suber L. The cork oak forests develop from sea level up to 500 m altitude in regions with hot and humid climates located around the Mediterranean basin[11] Cork oak for- ests are evidence of invaluable wealth, particularly in terms of water resources, soil conservation and biodiversity. But also known for its carbon sequestration property since they are an excellent carbon sink and also plays an important role enacting as a natural obstacle to the spread of fires [12]. Cork is represents a renewable, biodegradable, lightweight, abundant and cheap. Furthermore, it possesses very interesting properties: low density, elasticity, high dimensional compressibility, impermeability, good acoustic and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.05.092 2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Network of Biomaterials and Engineering Science. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: chadia.benmerad@univ-bejaia.dz (C. Ihamouchen). Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr Please cite this article as: C. Ihamouchen, H. Djidjelli and A. Boukerrou, Development and characterization of a new cork-based material, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.05.092