Morphology and Properties of a New Biodegradable Material Prepared from Zein and Poly(butylene adipate-terephthalate) by Reactive Blending

[Image: see text] In this study, zein, a renewable natural biopolymer from corn, was used to prepare a new biodegradable material with poly(butylene adipate-terephthalate) (PBAT) by reactive blending in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether) (PEGDGE). The effects of blending temperature and zein content on the morphology and mechanical and thermal properties of PBAT/zein blends with or without PEGDGE were investigated. Because of the high reactivity of the epoxy group in PEGDGE, the interfacial compatibility between zein and PBAT was improved greatly, and zein exhibited as a spheral phase with smaller size and finer dispersion in the PBAT matrix after the introduction of PEGDGE. Therefore, PEGDGE served as a plasticizer and reactive compatibilizer in the PBAT/zein blending system. Both the tensile strength and elongation at break of the blends with PEGDGE were improved greatly compared with those of the blends without PEGDGE but decreased gradually with the increase of zein content. These findings may provide a feasible way to utilize zein widely, and the new biodegradable blends with excellent stretchability could be used as packing materials in the future.