High mechanical performance MMT-urea and formamide-plasticized thermoplastic cornstarch biodegradable nanocomposites

Biodegradable nanocomposites have been successfully fabricated from the thermoplastic cornstarch (TPCS) and activated-montmorillonite (MMT) by melt-intercalation. TPCS was plasticized with novel plasticizers urea and formamide, and the activated-montmorillonites were obtained using citric acid as the activated solvent. Compared with urea and formamide-plasticized thermoplastic cornstarch (UFTPCS), the mechanical properties of nanocomposites were very good. The thermal analysis was investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The effect of water content on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites was studied. Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) was also carried out. The structure and morphology of biodegradable nanocomposites were characterized by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It was revealed that UFTPCS were intercalated into the layers of MMT successfully, and layers of MMT were fully exfoliated and so formed the exfoliated nanocomposites with MMT. This manufacturing process is simple and environmentally friendly.