The Preparation and Characterization of Glycerol Pseudo-Thermoplastic Starch/Glycerol Pseudo-Thermoplastic Polyvinyl Alcohol (GTPS/GTPVA) Biodegradable Films Using the Solution Casting Method

Abstract

Starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) are non-plasticized biodegradable materials. The purpose of this research was to transform starch and PVA into pseudo-thermoplastic starch (GTPS) and pseudo-thermoplastic PVA (GTPVA). Plasticizer (Glycerol) was used to reduce the molecular chain interactions and the melting temperatures, and then blended them via solution casting to form GTPS/GTPVA biodegradable films. Experimental tests evaluate the effect of plasticizer on GTPS/GTPVA films; the results indicate that GTPS/GTPVA-50/50 biodegradable films had excellent plasticization effect. Therefore, the method presented here should be useful in preparing GTPS/GTPVA biodegradable films.