Synthesis and Characterization of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Starch Esters

There is an increasing demand for plastics that are not made from fossil fuels and that have less impact on the environment. This is due to the projected exhaustion of petroleum as a resource, as well as the pressing issues of waste disposal and environmental pollution. Starch emerges as a highly promising solution, due to its non-toxic nature, affordability, and widespread availability. However, its affinity for water and its behavior when heated pose challenges to its practical applications, but with suitable modifications it is possible to improve starch characteristics such that it can be used to produce films for use in packaging materials or mulch films.In this work, starch was modified by a series of fatty acids with (saturated) and without (unsaturated) double bonds. Remarkably, the unsaturated fatty acids introduced more favorable thermal properties. Additionally, one of the unsaturated fatty acids induced antibacterial properties. Furthermore, starches derived from different plants were modified and their influences on the material properties were investigated.The use of unsaturated fatty acids for starch modification opens the possibility for the formation of a network through direct crosslinking, resulting in a tougher material. Moreover, these unsaturated fatty acids can be employed in a different reaction with other biobased molecules/polymers to create a network with tunable properties, further expanding the possibilities for applications.Together these modifications show that starch modified with unsaturated fatty acids has enhanced properties and contributed to the development of new biobased plastic alternatives