Characterization of tapioca starch plasticized by 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate

Starch is one of natural materials that been used for producing biodegradable materials. the starch-based materials are produced through a process known as gelatinization with the presence of plasticizer and elevated temperature. properties of starch-based materials are lacking in terms of viscosity,water absorption,thermal and mechanical properties compare with synthetic materials. researchers are involved in finding ways for improvement of starch-based materials properties and one of that is introducing new plasticizer. 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate,[emim][oac] is an ionic liquid that used as plasticizer to produce thermoplastic starch. starch plasticized by [emim][oac] were prepared with different total plasticizer contents (50%,70%) and [emim][oac]/water ratio (1:6,1:4,2:3 wt%). the thermoplastic starches were characterized in terms of morphology,crystalline structure and thermal degradation. the results showed that 70% of total plasticizer contents were mixed well during gelatinization process. [emim][oac] contributed to granule disruption as shown by sem. based on the xrd analysis,it was shown that thermoplastic starch at 70% total plasticizer contents and 1:4 wt% ratio of [emim][oac]/water,caused disruption of the a-type crystalline structure,generated vh-type crystalline structure and thus increased the mobility of the amorphous starch. the presence of [emim][oac] promotes the thermal degradation of starch molecules as described by tga. therefore,plasticizer contents and [emim][oac]/water ratio are vital parameters that influences the properties of thermoplastic starch. © 2017 penerbit utm press. all rights reserved.