One of the most critical limitations in synthesizing starch-polyurethane (PU) hybrid materials is their microphase separation caused by physical incompatibility. This paper reports that the physical incompatibility and microphase separation between starch and PU can be overcome by using specifically designed anionic poly(ether-ester) polyurethane (AEEPU). The AEEPU was synthesised by preparing isocyanate (NCO)-terminated prepolymer using Isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid (BMPA), poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and polycaprolactone (PCL). This AEEPU was physically mixed with glycerol plasticized high amylose starch (HAGS) at HAGS to AEEPU mass ratios of 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50. Higher AEEPU content in HAGS-AEEPU increased surface hydrophobicity and elasticity while the Young’s modulus remained unaffected. HAGS-AEEPU film at 50:50 ratio was comparable to LDPE film in terms of elongation at break (187%), Young’s modulus (383 MPa), and contact angle (112°) and good transparency. These starch-PU films are expected to find increased application as biodegradable packaging materials.

合成淀粉-聚氨酯（PU）杂化材料的最关键限制之一是由于物理不相容性导致的微相分离。本文报道淀粉和聚氨酯之间的物理不相容性和微相分离可以通过使用专门设计的阴离子聚（醚酯）聚氨酯（AEEPU）来克服。通过使用异佛尔酮二异氰酸酯（IPDI），2,2-双（羟甲基）丙酸（BMPA），聚（乙二醇）（PEG）和聚己内酯（PCL）制备异氰酸酯（NCO）封端的预聚物来合成AEEPU。将该AEEPU与甘油增塑的高直链淀粉（HAGS）以HAGS与AEEPU的质量比为90 / 10、80 / 20、70 / 30、60 / 40、50 / 50物理混合。HAGS-AEEPU中较高的AEEPU含量增加了表面疏水性和弹性，而杨氏模量保持不变。比例为50:50的HAGS-AEEPU膜的断裂伸长率（187％），杨氏模量（383 MPa），接触角（112°）和良好的透明度与LDPE膜相当。这些淀粉-PU薄膜有望作为可生物降解的包装材料得到更多的应用。