Abstract
Plastic is an amazing material, and wonderful invention, it has changed the world. Plastic is used everywhere and every day across the globe. But despite its varied uses, its disposal has threatened the environment. Biodegradable plastics can meet these needs and can easily be disposed to the environment. This work focuses on the characterization and performance analysis of starch bioplastics and composite bioplastic to reduce the plastic pollution by its various uses. TGA, DSC, SEM, FTIR, and surface roughness analyses were used to characterize, the mechanical properties, thermal properties and the morphology of the starch bioplastics and composite bioplastic. Starch bioplastics were fabricated using starch vinegar and glycerol. Composite bioplastics ware fabricated using starch, vinegar, glycerol and titanium dioxide. The addition of titanium dioxide improved the tensile strength of the bioplastics from 3.55 to 3.95 MPa and decreased elongation from 88% to 62%. According to Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) Test, the melting point (Tm) and Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) significantly affected by the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO2). The degree of nano-composite crystallinity was formed by the strong interfacial interaction between the titanium dioxide nanoparticles and the amorphous region of the chain. The decomposition temperature of starch bioplastic was increased by mixing with titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The results gained from SEM showed that better compatible morphologies in composite bioplastic compared to starch bioplastic for its fewer voids, holes, and crack. The functional group O–H, C–H, C=O, and C–O indicate the formation of starch bioplastics and composite bioplastics has already occurred which was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The result is also verified with the available results of other researchers. Therefore, composite bioplastic is a modified elevation of a starch bioplastic with a modified upgrade feature. It can be an alternative to existing conventional plastic, especially packaging applications.
Highlights
Plastics are used worldwide from drinking cups to various parts of automobiles and motorbikes
It can be ascertained that starch-based bioplastics and composite bioplastic have been successfully characterizied by various analysis
The composite bioplastic is stronger than starch bioplastic with increased tensile strength and reduced elongation
Summary
Plastics are used worldwide from drinking cups to various parts of automobiles and motorbikes They are imperative to the trade market as well as the packaging of materials all over the world. A lot of studies to increase the performance of starch-based bioplastics using fillers with several types of starch such as potato starch [28], wheat starch [29, 30, 31], jackfruit seed starch [32], corn starch [30, 33, 34, 35] and cassava starch [36], have been researched. The main objectives of this research were the preparation and characterization of composite bioplastics using titanium dioxide nanoparticle with corn starch. This research database can be useful for designing and manufacturing biodegradable materials
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