Abstract
Poly(e-caprolactone)/corn starch blends containing 25, 50 and 75 wt.% starch were prepared by mechanical processing and characterized by the melt flow index (MFI), tensile test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For comparison, starch was used in gelatinized and nongelatinized forms and was also characterized by viscography. The addition of starch to poly(e-caprolactone) reduced the MFI values, the tensile strength and the elongation at break, whereas the modulus increased. The reductions in the MFI and tensile properties were most evident when gelatinized starch was used. Viscography and SEM showed that starch was well gelatinized by the gelatinization process. Blends containing nongelatinized starch showed a good dispersion of starch but poor interfacial interactions.
Highlights
G comparison, starch was used in gelatinized and nongelatinized forms and was characterized by viscography
The swelling of starch granules began in the relatively mobile amorphous region composed of free amylose/amylopectin chains and amylopectin double helices that were not involved in crystal formation, and in the rigid amorphous regions close to branch points but immediately adjacent to crystalline regions
Starch gelatinization began at 79 oC, after heating for 20 min, and resulted in an increase in viscosity that reached a maximum torque peak of 494 BU (B) at 90 oC, at which point the suspension became a paste
Summary
G comparison, starch was used in gelatinized and nongelatinized forms and was characterized by viscography. Blends containing nongelatinized starch showed a good dispersion of starch but poor interfacial interactions.
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