{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T11:05:53Z","timestamp":1789470353385,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Higher Institution Centre of Excellence","award":["600-RMC\/MOHE HICOE INSAN (002\/2025-2)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["600-RMC\/MOHE HICOE INSAN (002\/2025-2)"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Wheat straw\/poly(lactic acid) (WS\/PLA) biocomposites provide a promising route for agricultural residue valorization, but poor interfacial compatibility limits their performance. This study investigated the effect of maleic-anhydride-grafted PLA (PLA-g-MAH) on WS\/PLA biocomposites containing 50 wt% wheat straw. PLA-g-MAH was incorporated at 0\u201310 wt% of the total composite mass by replacing an equivalent proportion of neat PLA, while the wheat straw content was maintained at 50 wt%. The composites were evaluated through mechanical testing, density and water absorption measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Mechanical properties improved with increasing compatibilizer content and then declined at excessive dosages. At 7 wt% PLA-g-MAH, tensile and impact strengths reached 17.24 MPa and 15.56 kJ\/m2, increasing by approximately 72% and 55%, respectively, compared with the uncompatibilized control. Density increased to 1.22 g\/cm3, while water absorption decreased by about 43.2%. XRD indicated that moderate PLA-g-MAH addition promoted more favorable crystallization, whereas excessive addition reduced peak intensity and broadened diffraction peaks. SEM showed that 7 wt% PLA-g-MAH produced the most compact fibre\u2013matrix interface, with fewer voids and less fibre pull-out. Thermal analyses further confirmed changes in thermal stability and crystallization behaviour after PLA-g-MAH addition. Overall, approximately 7 wt% PLA-g-MAH provided the best balance of interfacial integrity, mechanical performance, and moisture resistance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18182245","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T10:32:01Z","timestamp":1789468321000},"page":"2245","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of PLA-g-MAH Content on the Interfacial Structure and Properties of Wheat Straw\/PLA Biocomposites"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Yuqing","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Minden 11800, Penang, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shilong","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Fangmin","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Minden 11800, Penang, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"S.","family":"Siti Suhaily","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Minden 11800, Penang, Malaysia"},{"name":"Nusantara Institute of Creative Arts (INSAN), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam 40450, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S36","DOI":"10.1002\/pc.70796","article-title":"Environment Friendly, Renewable and Sustainable Natural Fiber-Reinforced Polylactic Acid (PLA) Composites","volume":"47","author":"Zhao","year":"2026","journal-title":"Polym. 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