Study on the characterization of thin film based on urea modified starch plasticized with ethylene glycol

This study aimed to formulate corn starch-based thermoplastic starch (TPS) films by varying concentrations of plasticizer which is ethylene glycol (EG) with and without polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Furthermore, the resulted thin film was characterized by its mechanical and physical properties. Thermoplastic starch was produced to replace the use of synthetic polymers in order to preserve the environment as thermoplastic starch is safer for environment. The objectives of this research are to study the effect of polyvinyl alcohol additive on the thin film based on urea modified starch and to determine the effect of different amount of plasticizer (ethylene glycol) addition on mechanical and physical properties of urea modified starch. The thin film were prepared directly using the cross linked corn starch with urea and the addition different concentration (35% w/w and 50% w/w) of ethylene glycol with and without the presence of PVA . The TPS were tested on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), tensile strength, water absorption, soil degradation and moisture content. The functional group consists of hydroxyl, alkene and carbonyl group. The higher in plasticizer content the higher hydrophilicity of the TPS and the presence of PVA will decrease the absorbance of water. The 35% w/w of EG with addition of PVA has highest tensile strength and lowest extension at break. The highest concentration of EG can affected the biodegradability properties of TPS but presence of PVA can slower the degradation of TPS. The lowest concentration of plasticizer without PVA has lowest moisture content. Overall, it can be conclude that the amount of plasticizer significantly influence the properties of thermoplastic starch.