Electrically conductive bioplastics from cassava starch

Abstract

In the current work, conductor biofilms were synthesized by means of solutions of 100 mL of water with 3 g of starch from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and different amounts of glycerin, glutaraldehyde, polyethyleneglycol and lithium perchlorate. These biofilms were characterized through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and thermogravimetry (TG). Results showed that biofilms with higher amount of lithium perchlorate portray higher values of conductivity and morphological and molecular differences could be observed as a result of the added proportions of the compounds in each one of the trials. © 2011 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.