Influence of exposure time of acidic air on structure and strength of starch-nanoclay biocomposite

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of acidic air on the strength and structure of starch-based biocomposites. Materials used for making biocomposite samples are tapioca starch, glycerol, distillate water, and nanoclay. Biocomposite synthesis uses a casting method. Treatment of acid-base air on biocomposite samples using acetic acids with a pH of 5 and exposure time for 2, 4 and 6 hours. After treatment, samples characterized using a tensile test and XRD analysis. The results show that the acidic air treatment affects the tensile strength of bioplastic samples. The tensile test results showed that the acidic air treatment of pH 5 for 4 hour results an optimum tensile strength of 9.1 MPa. The phase characterization using XRD showed that biocomposite samples with acidic air treatment indicate the highest intensity at a diffraction angle of 20.04°.