Polyethylene-octene elastomer/starch blends: miscibility, morphology and mechanical properties

In this paper, polyethylene-octene elastomer (POE) and starch blends were studied. The compatibility between POE and starch was improved by adding polyethylene-octene/maleic anhydride graft copolymer (POE-MA) as compatibilizer. The compatibilization reaction was followed by FTIR spectra. The morphology of the blends was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the size of the starch phase increased with an increasing content of starch for the blends. The addition of POE-MA can lower the size of the starch phase in the POE matrix, and this was due to the formation of an ester carbonyl function group by the chemical reaction between the anhydride groups and hydroxyl groups on starch. This was reflected in the mechanical properties of the blends, the addition of POE-MA compatibilizer can improve the mechanical properties of POE/starch blends. The thermogravimetric analysis of POE/starch blends was also conducted.