Salimi, KouroushTopuzogullari, MuratDincer, SevilAydin, Halil Murat2021-10-162021-10-1620160021-89951097-4628https //doi.org/10.1002/app.42937https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12573/1005This study supported by The Ministry of Science, Technology and Industry in the context of SANTEZ Project between Hacettepe University and Naksan (Project No: 00875.STZ.2011-1) and TUBITAK project (No: 113O864). Prof. Piskin is a full member of Turkish Academy of Sciences.Poly l-lactic acid grafted starch (St-g-PLA) copolymers were directly synthesized under microwave irradiation by using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and stannous 2-ethyl hexanoate acting as a catalyst, without the use of toxic solvents. The product were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (C-13 CP/MAS NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG). SEM analysis indicated that microwave heating had a considerable effect on the interfacial adhesion between PLA and starch. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG) revealed that copolymers exhibited better thermal stability. Maximum PLA grafting was achieved with the following reaction conditions: 450W microwave power, monomer ratio of 1:5 and 0.4M of NaOH. This study demonstrates that it is possible to obtain St-g-PLA copolymers with better processing characteristics and smaller sizes via microwave-assisted synthesis. The applied procedure is an interesting green synthesis method for the production of biodegradable materials used in a diverse range of applications. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 42937.enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessstarchgraft copolymerizationlactic acidmicrowave heatingarticleVolume 133 Issue 6