Surface Modification of Starch Films by Plasma

Many studies have shown that starch is a good alternative to produce biodegradable plastics. Corn starch based films were prepared by solvent evaporation using water and glycerol as plasticizers and their surfaces were modified by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) employing different plasma treatments in order to induce different surface wettability characteristics. Three different surfaces were produced: (i) starch modified by helium (He) plasma at -100 V for 10 min; (ii) starch coated using hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) monomer at -60 V for 20 min; and (iii) starch surface modification by He plasma at -100 V for 10 min followed by coating with HMDSO monomer at -60 V for 20 min. The results indicated that He plasma treatment under this condition was not able to induce changes in the surface wettability, but HMDSO coating led to surface hydrophobization, both of the as-prepared starch films and the He-modified surfaces.