Characteristics of thermoplastic sugar palm Starch/Agar blend: Thermal, tensile, and physical properties

Jumaidin R 1 , Sapuan SM 2 , Jawaid M 3 , Ishak MR 4 , Sahari J 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Structure and Material, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia, Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: sapuan@upm.edu.my
  • 3 Department of Structure and Material, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia, Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 5 Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Int J Biol Macromol, 2016 Aug;89:575-81.
PMID: 27177458 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.05.028

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the behavior of biodegradable sugar palm starch (SPS) based thermoplastic containing agar in the range of 10-40wt%. The thermoplastics were melt-mixed and then hot pressed at 140°C for 10min. SEM investigation showed good miscibility between SPS and agar. FT-IR analysis confirmed that SPS and agar were compatible and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds existed between them. Incorporation of agar increased the thermoplastic starch tensile properties (Young's modulus and tensile strength). The thermal stability and moisture uptake increased with increasing agar content. The present work shows that starch-based thermoplastics with 30wt% agar content have the highest tensile strength. Higher content of agar (40wt%) resulted to more rough cleavage fracture and slight decrease in the tensile strength. In conclusion, the addition of agar improved the thermal and tensile properties of thermoplastic SPS which widened the potential application of this eco-friendly material. The most promising applications for this eco-friendly material are short-life products such as packaging, container, tray, etc.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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