Abstract: Composites of bamboo fiber (BF) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were fabricated via hotpress process. The effect of BF on the mechanical properties, thermal stability, and melting and crystallization behavior had been studied. The mechanical properties of the composites increased first and then decreased with increasing mass fraction of BF. The impact strength, tensile strength, and the elongation at break respectively achieved the maxima of 14.64 kJ/m^2, 13.6 MPa, and 7.03 % at a BF mass fraction of 40 %. BF and PCL mutually inhibited the thermal decomposition each other. And the addition of BF decreased the melting temperature and degree of crystallinity of PCL, but increased the crystallization temperature. When the BF mass fraction was higher than 40 %, the water absorption rate of the composites rapidly increased.

Key words: bamboo fiber, polycaprolactone, mechanical property, thermal stability, crystallization behavior, water absorption