Catalytic Transesterification of Starch with Plant Oils: A Sustainable and Efficient Route to Fatty Acid Starch Esters.

The transesterification of maize starch with olive oil or high oleic sunflower oil was studied under homogeneous conditions in the presence of 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) as catalyst. Most importantly, this method used two renewable resources directly, without any pretreatment or derivatization, for the synthesis of polymeric materials with desirable properties. Moreover, the solvent, oils, and catalyst could be recovered through facile work-up and reused for further modifications. The obtained fatty acid starch esters (FASEs) were highly soluble in common organic solvents and were thoroughly characterized. Degrees of substitution (DS) were calculated using