Study on the Rheological Behaviour of Low Density Polyethylene - Thermoplastic Corn Starch (LDPE-TPCS) Nanocomposites

Owning to environmental pollution, biodegradable polymers which present ecological benefits have been of great industrial attentions [1]. Starch as a natural and inexpensive polymer isknown to be completely biodegradable and obtained a main position among sustainable and biodegradable materials [2].Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is prepared by plasticization of starch with a plasticizer such as glycerol. It has poor mechanical properties and cannot meet all the satisfactoryproperties for packaging purposes [3]. It seems that combination of starch with a polymer such as low densitypolyethylene (LDPE) and adding a nanofiller, in particular clay, pave the way for producing materials with suitable mechanical and barrier properties for packaging industries.In this study, rheology of LDPE-TPCS nanocomposites were investigated using a rheometric mechanical spectrometer (RMS) and a melt flow index apparatus (MFI).