INTECIN   20395
INSTITUTO DE TECNOLOGIAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA INGENIERIA "HILARIO FERNANDEZ LONG"
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Biodegradable thermoplastic starch and carbon nanotubes composites
Autor/es:
L.M. FAMÁ; V. PETTARÍN; S.GOYANES; C. BERNAL
Lugar:
Budapest
Reunión:
Congreso; 14th European Conference on Composite Materials; 2010
Resumen:
In this work, novel nanocomposites based in 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 investigated, the nanocomposites exhibited improved mechanical behaviour in comparison to the starch matrix. In addition, it was observed that carbon nanotubes were properly wrapped by the starch-iodine complex used. From the above findings, good dispersion of individual nanotubes or bundle of them in the starch matrix and adequate adhesion between phases could be expected. The capability of these nanocomposites as humidity sensors is also evaluated. The presence of the iodine-starch complex used to wrap the fillers leads to an improvement in the system electrical conductivity. The addition of MWCNTs does not change the electrical conductivity respect to the matrix prepared with the starch-iodine complex, and also improves the water vapor permeability behavior giving the composites an important advantage for their use as intelligent packagings. Further work is in progress regarding the effect of the wrapping of the filler on the formation of a percolation network.