N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)formamide as a new plasticizer for thermoplastic starch

N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)formamide (HF) was synthesized efficiently and used as a new plasticizer for corn starch to prepare thermoplastic starch (TPS). The hydrogen bond interaction between HF and starch was proved by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that starch granules were completely disrupted and a continuous phase was obtained. The crystallinity of corn starch and HF-plasticized TPS (HTPS) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The glass transitions of glycerol-plasticized TPS (GTPS) and HTPS were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The water resistance of GTPS was better than that of HTPS. In addition, the flexibility of HTPS was better than that of GTPS at low relative humidity. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.