Biodegradability Study by FTIR and DSC of Polymers Films Based on Polypropylene and Cassava Starch

PEDRO LÓPEZ; JUAN JIMENEZ; ARTURO LINARES; BLANCA ROJAS DE GASCUE

Orbital: The Electronic Journal of Chemistry

Orbital: The Electronic Journal of Chemistry

Lugar: Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Año: 2019 vol. 11 p. 71 - 82

The polypropylene resistance to biological attacks is related to the lack of functional groups recognizable bymicrobial enzymatic systems. The incorporation of compatibilizing agents in polypropylene (PP)/starch (S) blendsfavors the interactions of their components and can potentially induce the material degradation. In order to studythe degradation of PP/S blends, films were prepared with a compatibilizing agent (AC), constituted by polypropylenegrafted with acrylamide (PP-g-AAm). The films were placed in an Erlenmeyer flask containing 100 mL of a basalmineral medium with microorganisms inoculated in a cellulose filter, taken from an effluent. The FTIR analyzes ofthe films with the AC agent showed significant differences in the absorption bands, with respect to the control film.The asymmetric stretch signal of the grafted acrylamide that appeared at 3292 cm-1 increased in intensity only inthe inoculated blends. In addition, hydrolysis was evidenced by the stretching signal of the OH bond. Abruptchanges were observed in the carbonyl region (1700-1600 cm-1) with the appearance of new bands, which showsthe rupture of polymer chains. In the blends DSC analysis, a slight nucleation effect is observed in addition to aconsiderable increase in the degree of crystallinity, so it is suggested that the degradation could be occurring in theamorphous regions.