Creep behavior of Poly(ethylene)-Starch Composites

MARCOVICH, NORMA E.; VILLAR, MARCELO A.

Valencia

Congreso; IX Congreso Latinoamericano de Polímeros - VII Congreso Iberoamericano de Polímeros, Slap 2004; 2004

In order to increase the biodegradability of synthetic polymers, granular starch have been used as filler for polyethylene. However, an increasing in the amount of starch causes a decrease in both tensile strength and elongation at break. As a consequence, resulting materials have poor film forming properties. In this work, Linear Low Density Poly(ethylene) (LLDPE)-starch blends modified with maleic anhydride (MAN) as coupling agent were prepared. The MAN is expected to act as a bridge between the polar starch and the non-polar PE, enhancing the mechanical performance of the blends.