Isocyanate crosslinked reactive starch nanoparticles for thermo-responsive conducting applications

Hydrophobic nanoparticles and nanocomposite films of 1,4-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI)-modified starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have been synthesized at ambient temperatures. The platelet-like starch nanocrystals become pseudospherical after modification with HMDI and the size increases or decreases depending on diisocyanate concentration compared to the ungrafted particles as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results. The obtained nanocrystals were characterized by means of the FT-IR and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. When compared with the hydrophobic performance of the unmodified starch nanocrystals, that of crosslinked starch nanocrystals significantly increased. X-ray diffraction reveals that the crystalline structure of modified starch nanocrystals was preserved. The resulting hydrophobic starch nanoparticles are versatile precursors to the development of nanocomposites. The polyether-polyurethane crosslinked with SNPs nanocomposite film exhibited thermo-responsive electrical conductivity.