Structural and mechanical characteristics of film using modified corn starch by the same two chemical processes used in different sequences

Structure of dual modified starches, cross-linked esterified corn starch (CES) and esterified cross-linked corn starch (ECS), and product films (CEF and ECF) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The peak 1730 cm−1 of IR spectra confirmed the formation of ester carbonyl groups in starch matrix. The sequence of modification procedure had an impact on the final modification degree, resulting in structural differences of modified starches and starch films. Compared to native starch film (NF), CEF and ECF showed improved transparence (77.59% and 74.39% respectively) with compact structure, lower crystallinity (6.5% and 7.4% respectively). Results of mechanical test indicated that structure of ECF was more flexible than CEF, whereas tensile strength was higher in CEF. Accordingly, complex modification could be an effective method to adequate properties of starch films for specific processing requirements.