Starch-grafted-Poly(e-caprolactone) Copolymers: Synthesis and Use as Blends Compatibilizar

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

Rio de Janeiro

Conferencia; Fifth International Conference on Natural Polymers, Biopolymers and biomaterials: Applications from macro to nanoscale.; 2017

Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro

Starch is an abundant low cost biopolymer that has been study as an interesting alternative to petroleum derivatives. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) based materials presents some disadvantages mainly associated to their high susceptibility to humidity, limiting its industrial applications. In this sense, starch blending with others polymers may represents a promising alternative to improve final properties of starch-based materials. Among synthetic biodegradable polymers, poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) is considered an interesting option. However, due to hydrophilic TPS and hydrophobic PCL characters, the compatibility between them is very low. Therefore, the use of compatibilizer agents between the polyester and the starch matrix could overcome this drawback. This research aims to develop functionalized starches to be used as TPS/PCL compatibilizer. These derivatives were synthetized through starch-caprolatone copolymerization reactions by polyester chains grafting onto starch backbone, applying a novel, simple, and green one-pot technique using low doses of 60Co gamma radiation. It was demonstrated the grafting by complementary techniques. Thermoplastic starches were blended with PCL in the presence of the synthetized compatibilizers and their mechanical performance was evaluated through tensile tests. It was demonstrated the compatibilizing effect of the starch-grafted-poly(e-caprolactone) on TPS-PCL blends since maximum tensile strength was increased and the elongation at break was reduced significantly.