Characterization of TPS/PBAT blends irradiated by ionizing radiation

• Autor(a) principal: CASTRO, DIONE P. de
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: SILVA, LEONARDO G. de A. e, BRAZILIAN POLYMER CONFERENCE,16th
• Tipo de documento: Artigo de conferência
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional do IPEN
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.ipen.br/handle/123456789/32593
• topic: biodegradation; polymers; irradiation; environment; ionizing radiations

The use of biodegradable polymers is an important alternative today for both the environment and industry. However, when compared to conventional polymers, biodegradables are more expensive. The development of polymeric blends using matrices of biodegradable and synthetic polymers with natural additives are less damaging to the environment and more cost efficient. This study aimed to prepare natural blends of thermoplastic starch (TPS) with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) by reactive extrusion. The blends were submitted to the irradiation process using a Cobalt-60 source at a 25 kGy dose and then characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential heat flow scanning calorimetry (DSC). According to the results obtained in the FTIR tests, the blends did not undergo chemical changes during the irradiation process and, thus, maintained their properties. In the DSC tests, it was observed that the blends F2 (composed of castor oil) and F3 (composed of castor oil and TWEEN?? 80) showed higher values of heat flow for degradation than the samples F0 (composed of glycerol) and F1 (composed of glycerol and TWEEN?? 80), probably due to the chemical interaction of castor oil and its constituents. There was no thermal variation in the irradiation process between blends F0 and F1 or F2 and F3 . It was concluded that it is feasible to replace castor oil with glycerol in TPS/PBAT blends.