Durability of a starch-based biodegradable polymer

The photo-oxidation and the photo-stabilization of a commercial biodegradable polymer have been investigated in order to establish the possibility of using this polymer as raw material for films for agriculture. The degradation has been followed by measuring the mechanical properties as a function of photo-oxidation time and in particular by following the elongation at break. The virgin polymer, made from maize starch and a synthetic biodegradable polyester, shows poor resistance to the UV irradiation as observed by the fast decay of the elongation at break, but the presence of small amounts of conventional UV stabilizers strongly improves the durability of this polymer. The UV stabilizers remarkably extend the induction time without modifying the photo-oxidation kinetics. Among the investigated stabilizers, the benzophenone compound seems to work slightly better than the benzotriazoles, than the triazine and than the sterically hindered amine. This behaviour has been attributed to the larger absorbance in the UV range of the biodegradable polymer. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.