Structural, physicochemical and biodegradable properties of composite plastics prepared with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), OSA potato starch and gliadin

Abstract

Biodegradable plastics have become a good substitute for traditional plastics. In this study, the ternary plastics were prepared by the solvent casting method using different proportions of octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) esterified potato starch, gliadin and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and their structural, physicochemical and degradable properties were characterized. The results showed that composite plastic's elastic modulus (EM), water resistance, and degradability were higher than pure PVA. When the ratio of OSA potato starch to gliadin was 1:1 and replaced PVA was 25%, the compatibility of composite plastic was the best. When PVA accounts for 75% of the total plastic composition, Tm, ΔHc and ΔHm of composite plastics were larger than pure PVA plastics. Therefore, the biodegradability of PVA plastics can be improved by adding OSA potato starch and gliadin, thus providing effective plastic properties as food packaging materials.