Poly(methyl methacrylate) modified Starch: their preparations, properties and applications

Abstract

Plastic wastes are generally not easily degradable under the action of environmental components. They are very much resistant to microbial attack too. These non-biodegradable plastics accumulate over a longer period of time on earth leading to environmental pollution. However, this may be avoided by using biodegradable polymers. Thus the demand for the preparation of biodegradable polymers has grown up. In recent years, researchers have developed a few biodegradable polymers from renewable sources; those find a large application in the field of packaging, agriculture, and biomedical fields. Starch is one such biopolymer, modification of which may lead to a semi-synthetic polymer with good properties with an edge of biodegradability. Poly(methyl methacrylate) is a good modifying agent for such modification as revealed by the literature search. This review report summarizes the preparation of such poly(methyl methacrylate) grafted starch polymers via different physical and chemical methods, their properties, and their applications.

Keywords:
biopolymer; mechanical properties; poly(methyl methacrylate); starch