Thermoplastic starch-nanohybrid films with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

I Martinez-Pardo; Robert A Shanks; Benu Adhikari; Raju Adhikari

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.009

Thermoplastic starch-nanohybrid films with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Oct 1:173:170-177. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.009. Epub 2017 May 10.

Authors

I Martinez-Pardo¹, Robert A Shanks², Benu Adhikari³, Raju Adhikari⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Electronic address: issac.rubens@gmail.com.
² School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Electronic address: robert.shanks@rmit.edu.au.
³ School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Electronic address: benu.adhikari@rmit.edu.au.
⁴ CSIRO Manufacturing, Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia,. Electronic address: raju.adhikari@csiro.au.

PMID: 28732856
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.009

Abstract

Thermoplastic starch forms packaging films that have low gas permeability, but they are more permeable to water vapour and they are attacked by water. Our approach was to create surface and internal localised hydrophobicity using added reactive nano-materials to form nano-silica hybrids with emphasis on enhancing surface water resistance. Functionalization was via epoxy-POS, that were further linked to hydrophobic erucamide or an amphiphilic poly(oxyethylene-co-oxypropylene) mono-amine. High amylose thermoplastic starch was combined with mono-functionalised hepta-isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POS). POS modified thermoplastic starch increased water resistance of TPS film. Wettability kinetics was a function of two distinct mechanisms each with independent linear behaviour. Surface water resistance increased and is proposed to be due to preferential location of the POS derivatives at the surface with associated increase of hydrophobicity due a surface change.

Keywords: (Z)-docos-13-enamide (PubChem CID: 5365371); 1-(3-Glycidyl)propoxy-3,5,7,9,11,13,15-isobutylpentacyclo [9.5.1.13,9.15,15.17,13] octasiloxane (PubChem CID: 4126588); Contact angle; Gelatinization; Hydroxypropyl starch (PubChem CID: 24847857); Nanohybrids; O-(2-aminopropyl)-O′-(2-methoxyethyl)poly(propylene glycol) 500 (PubChem SID: 24846306); Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes; Starch film; Water-resistant; oxolane (PubChem CID: 8028); propane-1,2,3-triol (PubChem CID: 753).