Biodegradable thermoplastic starch and carbon nanotubes composites

LUCIA FAMÁ; VALERIA PETTARIN; SILVIA GOYANES; CELINA BERNAL

Budapest

Conferencia; 14th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM-14); 2010

Nanocomposites based on tapioca starch polymer reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were developed. An aqueous solution of starch-iodine complex was used to wrap the filler before adding it to the polymer. The effect of the addition of small fractions of MWCNTs (0.027 wt.% and 0.055 wt.%) in the quasistatic tensile and in the biaxial impact response of the nanocomposites was investigated. Under both loading conditions, the nanocomposites exhibited improved mechanical behaviour in comparison to the starch matrix. In addition, good dispersion of nanotubes in the starch matrix and adequate adhesion between phases could be expected. The capability of these composites as humidity sensors was also evaluated. The presence of the iodine-starch complex led to an improvement in the system electrical conductivity. The addition of MWCNTs improved the water vapor permeability behaviour giving the composites an important advantage for their use as intelligent packagings.