THERMOPLASTIC STARCH / MONTMORILLONITE NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS

L. B. MANFREDI; V. P. CYRAS; MINH-TAN TON-THAT; A. VAZQUEZ.

Zalakaros, Hungría

Congreso; Eurofillers 2007; 2007

In the last years, most of the research investigation is focused on to obtain environmental friendly materials. Starch is a biodegradable polymer easily available and cheap obtained from many renewable resources such as potato, maize, rice, etc.(1). The thermoplastic starch is obtained in presence of water and a plasticizer, such as glycerol. This thermoplastic starch is mostly water-soluble and has poor resistance and low strength. The addition of low percentages of inorganic materials such as clay(2) could improve the mechanical resistance as well as barrier and thermal properties of starch. The improvement in the polymer properties was reached when the clay is exfoliated and this is the major problem in preparing nanocomposites. The aim of this work is to study the influence of the addition of low percentages of clay on the barrier and mechanical properties of plasticized starch.