Preparation and characterization of dry method esterified starch/polylactic acid composite materials

•Esterified method was a simple process, low cost, and limited amounts of waste water and gas.•Maleic anhydride esterified starch was blended with PLA to increase the interface bond strength.•The mechanical properties and water resistance of the composite material improved.•Contact angle and water absorption test results verify that hydrophobicity increased obviously. Corn starch and maleic anhydride were synthesized from a maleic anhydride esterified starch by dry method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for the qualitative analysis of the esterified starches. The reaction efficiency of dry method esterified starch reached 92.34%. The dry method esterified starch was blended with polylactic acid (PLA), and the mixture was melted and extruded to produce the esterified starch/polylactic acid (ES/PLA) composites. The degree of crystallinity of the ES/PLA was lower than that of the NS/PLA, indicating that the relative dependence between these two components of starch and polylactic acid was enhanced. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the dry method esterified starch increased the two-phase interface compatibility of the composites, thereby improving the tensile strength, bending strength, and elongation at break of the ES/PLA composite. The introduction of a hydrophobic ester bond and increase in interface compatibility led to an increase in ES/PLA water resistance. Melt index determination results showed that starch esterification modification had improved the melt flow properties of starch/PLA composite material. Strain scanning also showed that the compatibility of ES/PLA was increased. While frequency scanning showed that the storage modulus and complex viscosity of ES/PLA was less than that of NS/PLA.