Synthesis and characterization of the starch/silicone composite and elaboration of its films

Abstract Synthesis of the starch/silicone composite carried out and its structural characterization by FTIR, Raman and 29Si NMR allowed to identify functional groups of the composite. The synthesis conditions were a starch/silicone mass ratio of 2.0 and a temperature of 150 oC to obtain a yield of 84.63 %. SEM analysis showed that the starch granules were covered by silicone, this caused a decrease in the crystallinity of starch. Composite films have higher thermal stability compared to native starch. Mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the starch/silicone composite film increase with respect to starch-only films. While the crystallinity of both films is similar. The results obtained in this work indicate that starch/silicone composites can be an alternative to make films with a potential use for the packaging industry.