Characterization using X-ray diffraction and study of the crystallinity of the thermoplastic starch/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends irradiated by gamma rays / Caracterização por DRX e estudo de cristalinidade de blendas de amido termoplástico/poli (butileno adipato-co-tereftalato) irradiadas por raios gama

The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the structure and crystallinity of non-irradiated and irradiated thermoplastic starch blends (TPS)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) - PBAT and also to evaluate the behavior of castor oil replacing glycerol. In this work, the characterization was performed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), in which the crystallinity index (IC) of non-irradiated and irradiated blends of TPS/PBAT was calculated, through the software Bruker DIFFRAC.EVA® v4.22. For the plastification of the TPS, glycerol, castor oil and TWEEN® 80 were used to verify their compatibility and establish a comparison among the blends. The samples were prepared by extrusion and irradiated at 25 kGy with gamma rays with a 60Co source. However, the crystallinity indexes of the blends were altered according to the plasticizer used and the use of TWEEN® 80. Thus, it was concluded that replacing glycerol with castor oil is feasible in TPS/PBAT blends