Improving Thermoplastic Starch Properties by Blending with Poly(e-caprolactone)

M.D. NINAGO; O.V. LÓPEZ; M.A. GARCÍA; M.M.S. LENCINA; A.E. CIOLINO; M.A. VILLAR

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Workshop; II Workshop on Bio-degradable Polymers and Biocomposites y III Workshop BIOPURFIL, Bio-based Polyurethane Composites with Natural Fillers; 2015

Facultad de Ingeniería, UBA

Thermoplastic starch (TPS) can be obtained by processing native starch at high temperature and shear stress in the presence of enough plasticizers such as water, glycerol, and sodium alginate, among others. TPS can be extruded, injected, and blown; however, final material presents poor mechanical properties, dimensional instability, and high water vapor permeability due to the inherent starch hydrophilic character. One alternative to overcome these draw-backs is the blending with other polymers. Poly(e-caprolactone), (PCL), is a biocompatible, degradable polyester which is a good candidate to obtain TPS with enhanced applications. In this work, blending and grafting of PCL onto two thermoplastics matrices were studied. The chemical characterization and final properties of the obtained materials were studied. PCL incorporation to starch matrices improved their water vapor barrier capacity, since WVP values of blends were lower than the corresponding to SG and SGA.