Thermoplastic cassava starch-waxy maize starch nanocrystals nanocomposites

N. GARCIA; A. DUFRESNE; M. ARANGUREN; S. GOYANES

Alicante, España

Congreso; 1st International Conference on Biodegradable Polymers and Sustainable Composites (BIOPOL-2007).; 2007

The present study investigated effects of maize starch nanocrystals on physical and mechanical properties of thermoplastic cassava starch films. Waxy maize starch nanocrystals obtained by hydrolysis of native granules were used as a reinforcing agent in a thermoplastic cassava starch matrix plasticized with glycerol. TGA shows to a slight landslide of the temperature of degradation of the system glycerol-starch and the starch towards smaller temperatures with the load aggregate.Dynamic mechanical analyses showed that the rubbery storage modulus values (estimated at 50°C) increased 4 times the value of modulus of the unfilled polymer. It was shown that the reinforcing effect of starch nanocrystals could be attributed to filler/matrix interactions due to the establishment of hydrogen bonding.