Cationic Starch

(Starch with Tertiary Amino or Quaternary Ammonium Ether Groups)

Properties and Applications

One of the most important starch derivatives is quaternary ammonium starch. This type of starch can be prepared by treating an aqueous starch slurry or semi-dry starch paste with chloro-hydroxy or epoxy group-containing quaternary amines in the presence of sodium hydroxide at ambient or slightly elevated temperature (25 - 55°C),¹ which yields cationic ether starches with quaternary ammonium salt groups.
The properties of cationic starch depend on the degree of substitution per glucose unit (DS). The maximum DS value is 3 which is equal to the number of hydroxyl groups on each glucose unit. However, commercial grades have a much lower DS value which is typically less than 0.1.

Cationic starches are important starch-based additives that have been used for decades in a variety of industries and products including cellulose paper and cardboard, textiles, and cosmetics. They can be used as a rheology modifiers, thickening agents, flocculants, emulsion stabilizers, textile sizing agents (?), paper binders, and coating agents. The most important application is the production of paper and cardboard. Cationic starches are known to improve tear strength, help to bind particles together and on the base paper material, and increase the retention of fibers and fillers.

Manufacturers & Distributors

¹One of the most common and most often used reagent is 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (CHPTMAC)^2
2S.M. Butrim, T.D. Bil'dyukevich, N.S. Butrim, and T.L. Yurkshtovich, Chem. Nat. Comp., Vol. 47, No. 2, 185 (2011)