Effect of the Incorporation of Polycaprolactone (PCL) on the Retrogradation of Binary Blends with Cassava Thermoplastic Starch (TPS)

The effects of incorporating polycaprolactone (PCL) in three binary blends with cassava thermoplastic starch (TPS) at TPS/PCL ratios of 60/40, 50/50, and 40/60 were studied. TPS previously obtained by single-screw extrusion was manually mixed with PCL and then transformed by extrusion. The results’ analysis focused mainly on monitoring the retrogradation phenomenon in TPS for different storage times at two relative humidities (29% and 54%) and constant temperature (25 °C). With the plasticization of the starch, a predominantly amorphous mass was generated, as evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results. The results suggested that two opposite processes coexisted simultaneously: retrogradation, which stiffened the material, and plasticization, which softened it, with the latter mechanism predominating at short times and reversing at longer times. With the incorporation of PCL, immiscible blends were obtained in which TPS was the dispersed phase; the mechanical properties improved with the amount of PCL added. The properties of the binary blends as a function of time showed a trend similar to that observed for TPS alone; this finding indicated that the TPS/PCL interactions were not strong enough to affect the structural changes in the TPS, which continued to occur regardless of the PCL content. Finally, it was found that for the binary blend, the relative humidity during storage was more significant to the retrogradation phenomenon than the amount of PCL.