The green manufacturing of thermoplastic starch for low-carbon and sustainable energy applications: a review on its progress

Abstract

Thermoplastic starch (TPS) has acquired considerable attention and many efforts have been devoted to its application in many areas, such as food packaging, waterborne coatings, gas barriers, and energy storage and generation. Differing from other thermoplastic polymers, the manufacturing of TPS requires appropriate solvents for granule disruption, which contribute to the dissociation of the double helical structure of starch granules and the reconstitution of hydrogen bond crosslinking between solvent molecules and starch chains. Today, state-of-the-art approaches and techniques are commonly found in literature. However, in many cases, there is no clear definition or guidelines on what aspects are involved and what roles hydrogen bonds play in the synthesis of TPS. This review focuses on classifying, differentiating, and correlating the existing concepts using recent literature reports to provide readers with a general insight into the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of TPS green manufacturing. Moreover, this review summarizes the potential of green solvents and green polymers to prepare TPS-based materials for fighting against post-consumer waste and expanding their application sphere. Furthermore, next generation TPS, multifunctional starch organic gel, and its fabrication strategies and applications in power sources for wearable electronics as well as efficient energy storage and multimodal stimulus-responsive sensors are elaborated in this review. Eventually, a good comprehension of suggestions and outlooks concerning the applications of TPS-based materials presented would contribute to the development of new complex, functional materials.