Synergistic reinforcing effect of TiO2and montmorillonite on potatostarch nanocomposite films: Thermal, mechanical and barrierproperties

In this study, ternary potato starch (PS) bionanocomposite films containing two types of nanoparticles,sodium montmorillonite (MMT), one-dimensional (1D) clay platelets, (3 and 5 wt%) and TiO2, three-dimensional (3D) nanospheres, (0.5, 1 and 2 wt%), are prepared using solvent casting method. X-raydiffraction (XRD) test confirms the completely exfoliated structure formed in the PS-MMT nanocompos-ites containing 3 and 5% MMT. The success of the formation of new hydrogen bonds between the hydroxylgroups of starch and nanofillers is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Tensilestrength (TS), elongation at break (EB), glass transition temperature (Tg), and melting point (Tm) of thefilms are also enhanced after MMT and TiO2incorporation. The water vapor permeability (WVP) andthe visible, UVA, UVB and UVC lights transmittance decreases upon TiO2and MMT content increasing.Generally, a synergistic effect is observed between MMT and TiO2at lower concentrations of MMT.

Potato starchMontmorilloniteTiO2Physical propertiesXRDFTIR