Effect of starch predrying on the mechanical properties of starch/poly(ε-caprolactone) composites

✍ Scribed by O. S. Odusanya; D. M. A. Manan; U. S. Ishiaku; B. M. N. Azemi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 374 KB
• Volume: 87
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.11295

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This study describes the effect of predrying sago starch, a tropical starch, on the resultant mechanical properties of starch/poly(ε‐caprolactone) composite materials. Sago starch was dried to less than a 1% moisture level in a vacuum oven and dispersed into a polycaprolactone matrix with an internal mixer at 90°C. The mechanical properties of the composite were studied according to methods of the Association for Standards, Testing, and Measurement, whereas the morphology was monitored with scanning electron microscopy. The properties were compared with a composite obtained with native starch containing 12% moisture. The results indicated that predrying the starch led to a lower property drop rate in the composite as the starch content increased. The elastic modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break were higher than those obtained when starch was used without predrying. The morphology observed during scanning electron microscopy studies was used to explain the observed trends in the mechanical properties. In this way, a relatively simple and cost‐effective method was devised to increase the starch loading in the polycaprolactone matrix to obtain properties within the useful range of mechanical properties. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 877–884, 2003