Investigation of the presence of KCl in the structure and morphology of V-amylose–inclusion complexes

Amylose–fatty acid inclusion complexes were prepared using amylose extracted from pea starch and fatty acids with different chain length. To form the complexes, amylose, dissolved in aqueous alkaline solution (0.1 Ν ΚΟΗ), was mixed with fatty acid potassium soap solution and after neutralization the complex was obtained as precipitate. To investigate the structure and morphology of V-amylose–inclusion complexes, a series of techniques such as X-ray diffraction, SEM-microscopy combined with elemental microanalysis, Differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed. XRD analysis of complexes, revealed that the complexes displayed the typical V-form pattern, with an extra peak at 2θ = 28.2°. To identify the origin of that peak the complexes were examined by SEM microscopy combined with elemental microanalysis. The results indicated that the peak was due to the presence of potassium chloride, formed during the preparation of the complexes. Washing the complexes with water was sufficient to remove the salt.