The modification of properties of thermoplastic starch materials: Combining potato starch with natural rubber and epoxidized natural rubber

In this paper, natural rubber (NR) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) are used as potential modifiers of thermoplastic potato starch (TPS). The mechanical and thermal properties, water absorption, and biodegradability were tested. The results show that ENR can be used as a compatibilizer for NR and TPS. As the rubber content (mainly ENR content) increases, the tensile strength of the material decreases and the elongation at break increases. With increasing ENR content, the changes in various properties of the material are unexpected. The development of the ternary blend enables a modified material to have an expected good mechanical property. Low rubber content blends exhibit high biodegradability. The developed material can be processed via compression molding. TPS, unvucanized NR, and ENR are all-natural green materials, so this provides new ideas for the development of environmentally friendly materials.