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Lookup NU author(s): Professor David XieORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Starch and cellulose are two typical natural polymers from plants that have similar chemical structures. The blending of these two biopolymers for materials development is an interesting topic, although how their molecular interactions could influence the conformation and properties of the resultant materials has not been studied extensively. Herein, the rheological properties of cellulose/starch/ZnCl2 solutions were studied, and the structures and properties of cellulose-starch hybrid films were characterized. The rheological study shows that compared with starch (containing mostly amylose), cellulose contributed more to the solution’s viscosity and has a stronger shear-thinning behavior. A comparison between the experimental and calculated zero-shear-rate viscosities indicates that compact complexes (interfacial interactions) formed between cellulose and starch with ≤50 wt % cellulose content, whereas a loose structure (phase separation) existed with ≥70 wt % cellulose content. For starch-rich hybrid films prepared by compression molding, less than 7 wt % of cellulose was found to improve the mechanical properties despite the reduced crystallinity of the starch; for cellulose-rich hybrid films, a higher content of starch reduced the material properties, although the chemical interactions were not apparently influenced. It is concluded that the mechanical properties of biopolymer films were mainly affected by the structural conformation, as indicated by the rheological results.
Author(s): Shang X, Jiang H, Wang Q, Liu P, Xie F
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Year: 2019
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
Print publication date: 22/01/2019
Online publication date: 22/01/2019
Acceptance date: 16/01/2019
Date deposited: 23/05/2023
ISSN (electronic): 1422-0067
Publisher: MDPI
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20030474
DOI: 10.3390/ijms20030474
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