Thermoplastic starch/bentonite clay nanocomposite reinforced with vitamin B2: Physicochemical characteristics and release behavior

Abstract

Abstract Thermoplastic starch (TPS) attracted great interest in the biopolymer industry due to its obvious advantages, such as biodegradability and renewable resources, as substitutes for petroleum-based materials. This study is focused on designing TPS/bentonite clay (BC) nanocomposite (TPS/BC) reinforced with vitamin B2 (VB). The TPS nanocomposites loaded with various contents of BC were prepared using regular cornstarch/clay plasticized with glycerol. Subsequently, the various content of VB was encapsulated into TPS/BC. The effects of VB were investigated on the physicochemical properties of the TPS/BC films including mechanical and thermal properties, water uptake, and weight loss in water. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of TPS/BC/VB films were found to increase significantly with adding and rising the VB content. The highest tensile and Young’s modulus values were observed for the nanocomposites containing 5 php of VB and 3 php of BC which indicates their synergistic effects on the mechanical properties of TPS. TPS reinforced with 1 php and 5 php VB showed an increase in water uptake compared to the TPS. The release of VB was evaluated from the nanocomposite films. Our findings show that higher BC content leads to lower VB release, which indicates the control of VB release by BC content.