Design of heat-sealing starch-based bioplastics reinforced with different modified starches and TEMPO-CNF

An increasing interest in utilizing biomass resources to develop bioplastics, aiming to mitigate the environmental and energy issues resulting from the use of petroleum-based plastics. However, bioplastics that suffering from poor interface bonding and hydrophilicity of the feedstock usually exhibit inadequate mechanical properties, water stability and functionality, which hinder their practical applications. Herein, a simple and effective strategy was proposed to develop high-performance starch-based bioplastics with thermoplastic by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxy-oxidized cellulose nanofibers and different modified starch fillers coupled with chemical cross-linking reinforcement. Due to the full utilization of the advantages of each component, outstanding interface bonding and rich chemical cross-linking, all the obtained modified starch-based bioplastics demonstrated excellent mechanical properties (up to 20.52 MPa) and superior water stability. Besides, the starch-based bioplastics could be reused after dissolution-regeneration, and completely biodegradable after disposal. At the same time, the starch-based bioplastics exhibited remarkable heat-sealing properties, which provided more convenient possibility of producing packaging materials for bioplastics used in different fields. • We proposed a green and convenient strategy to prepare thermoplastic. • The bioplastic exhibited outstanding mechanical and water resistance properties. • The bioplastic could be reused, crushed, dissolved, and re-poured after use. • The bioplastic showed strong heat-sealing properties.