N, N, N′, N′-Tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine as a new plasticizer for thermoplastic starch and its effect on the physical and mechanical properties of starch-based nanocomposites

Abstract

N, N, N′, N′-Tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (THEED) was used as a novel plasticizer for cornstarch to prepare thermoplastic starch (TPS). Strong interaction between THEED and starch was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the starch granules were completely disrupted and a homogeneous phase was obtained. The crystallinity of THEED-plasticized thermoplastic starch (TDTPS) was also characterized by X-ray diffraction. Results demonstrated that TDTPS restrained the re-crystallization of traditional TPS plasticized by glycerol (GTPS) or water (WTPS). In the second part of experiments, the physical and mechanical properties of new TDTPS-based nanocomposites were compared to that of GTPS-based and WTPS-based nanocomposites. Due to the comprehensive investigation, three different kinds of starch-based nanocomposites (starch/clay, starch/natural rubber/clay, and starch/poly(vinyl alcohol)/clay nanocomposites) were examined. Successfully, the physical and mechanical properties of all TDTPS-based nanocomposites, such as d-spacing of clay layers, Young's modulus and tensile strength were considerably improved.