Abstract: In this study, a series of esterified starches with different degrees of modification with succinic acid were prepared, and then the succinate starch/PVA blend films were prepared by a solution-mixing method. The structures of the blend films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, their surface morphologies were observed by SEM, and their mechanical properties were also evaluated. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of the blend films were influenced by the degree of modification with succinic acid, the molecular structure of PVA and the mass ratio of succinate starch/PVA. The blend films were found to exhibit an improvement in breaking strength and elongation at break with an increase of modification degree, and the breaking strength and elongation at break increased with increasing the polymerization degree of PVA and alcoholysis degree. The breaking strength of the blend films tended to decrease at first and then to increase with an increase of starch content, and it reached a minimum at the starch succinate/PVA mass ratio of 50/50. However, the elongation at break was observed to keep a gradual decreasing trend.

Key words: polyvinyl alcohol, succinate starch;blend film;mechanical property