title: Preparation and characterization of thermoplastic starches and their blends with poly(lactic acid).
abstract: Two different thermoplastic starches (TPS), namely maleic anhydride grafted starch (MA-g-starch) and epoxidized cardanol grafted starch (Epicard-g-starch), were successfully prepared by chemical modification without the addition of any plasticizer. The structure and properties were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), hot press testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle meter, respectively. Results from XRD showed that the highly crystalline structure of native starch was destroyed after modification. Continuous phase was obtained from both of the chemically modified starches after hot pressing at 130°C, indicating that they have good thermoplasticity. Subsequently, they were melt-blended with PLA. It was found that the Epicard-g-starch had a much finer dispersed phase size than MA-g-starch in PLA matrix due to its better hydrophobicity. As a result, the mechanical properties of PLA/Epicard-g-starch blend were superior to those of PLA/MA-g-starch blend.
authors.affiliation: Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhaobin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, PR China. Electronic address: xiongzhu@nimte.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, Zhejiang, PR China. Electronic address: jzhu@nimte.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide); D013213:Starch
keywords: Hydrophobic modification; Poly(lactic acid); Thermoplastic starch