STARCH AND CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS TOGETHER INTO THERMOPLASTIC STARCH BIONANOCOMPOSITES

GONZALEZ, KIZKITZA; RETEGI, ALOÑA; GOYANES SILVIA; GONZÁLEZ, ALBA; EZEIZA, ARANTXA; GABILONDO, NAGORE

Roma

Conferencia; 4rd International Conference on Biodegradable and Biobased Polymers, BIOPOL 2013; 2013

Biopol 2013

Starch, in form of its thermoplastic derivate (TPS), has been revealed as an appropriate candidate to be applied as substitute of synthetic polymers traditionally employed for packaging, due to its versatility, biodegradability and processability. However, attempting to reduce the well-known moisture and temperature sensitivity of TPS, several strategies have been developed in the literature1. Bionanocomposites have already been identified as useful materials for achieving the mentioned objectives. Actually, a large amount of work has been published mainly with cellulose whiskers and, in a less extent, chitin or starch nanocrystals2. However, little work has been reported using different polysaccharide nanocrystals simultaneously3. In the present work, TPS based bionanocomposites were elaborated incorporating waxy maize starch nanocrystals (WSNC). Furthermore, a biomimetic approach was developed by the combination of both WSNC and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) extracted from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), in order to investigate their particular role in permeability or as mechanical reinforcement analyzing possible synergistic effects.