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Preparation and characterisation of biodegradable starch‐based nanocomposite materials
Author(s) -
McGlashan Stewart A,
Halley Peter J
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.1287
Subject(s) - organoclay , materials science , nanocomposite , starch , polyester , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry
Different formulations of biodegradable starch–polyester blend nanocomposite materials have been film blown on a pilot scale film blowing tower. The physical properties of different films have been examined by thermal and mechanical analysis and X‐ray diffraction. The results show that the addition of an organoclay (from 0 to 5 wt%) significantly improves both the processing and tensile properties over the original starch blends. Wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) results indicate that the best results were obtained for 30 wt% starch blends, and the level of delamination depends on the ratio of starch to polyester and amount of organoclay added. The crystallisation temperature of the nanocomposite blends is significantly lower than the base blend. This is probably due to the platelets inhibiting order, and hence crystallisation, of the starch and polyester. The mechanical and thermal properties of the blends are also sensitive to the way the clay particles are dispersed. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry