In recent years, different types of whole starch biodegradable materials have been favored by researchers inside and outside the market. Full starch biodegradable materials usually refer to materials processed with a starch content of more than 80%. Plasticizers can also be degraded as a whole. Disposable corn starch tableware can be thoroughly decomposed by microorganisms, acids, alkalis, etc. existing in soil or water in a short time after being discarded. The products are carbon dioxide and water. An environmentally friendly material.

Studies have reported that the addition of plasticizers can affect the mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch from different angles. On the one hand, it can increase the degree of plasticization of tableware, and on the other hand, it can promote the rearrangement of the chain structure and increase its hardness. In addition, the composition, size and conformation of starch molecular chains will also affect the preparation of thermoplastic starch.

Studies have explored the effects of the crystalline structure and molecular weight of starch on the tensile strength, elongation at break and plasticity of the material. The relative crystallinity and crystal configuration of the starch on the surface will not affect its mechanical properties, but its straight The chain/branched chain ratio and molecular weight can obviously affect the relative performance of the prepared corn starch tableware. Other studies have also shown that the increase in the content of linear chains is beneficial to the improvement of material strength, hardness and solution viscosity, and the more likely to be shear thinning.

Most disposable corn starch tableware uses glycerin as a plasticizer. However, due to the rearrangement of the starch molecular chain or inside, the thermoplastic starch material is prone to rearrangement and aggregation during storage, which causes the material to age and become brittle. Reduce or lose its application value.

Researchers have done related studies in order to change the related defects. Among them, some people use urea, thiourea and guanidine hydrochloride and other amine-based compounds as plasticizers and found that such plasticizers can not only promote the occurrence of starch gelatinization behavior, but also restrict The deterioration of the performance of starch-based tableware. Some people also prepared nano-starch microcrystals by enzymatically hydrolyzing native starch, and then prepared disposable corn starch tableware by using nano-starch microcrystals under the action of glycerol. They found that strong hydrogen bonds can be formed inside the particles and between the particles and the particles. The interaction between the systems increases, resulting in an improvement in the overall performance of the cornstarch tableware. At the same time, the presence of smaller starch crystals can also slow down the aging degree of corn starch under high moisture conditions.