Starch is one of the most abundant farm-based raw materials. It is a significant component of such high volume commodity crops as corn, potato, rice, wheat, and barley. Because of the large surplus of these crops over demand, there is a great deal of interest in developing new uses for starch-based products. For some applications such as in lubrication, it is important that the starch dissolve in an appropriate solvent, preferably water. Unfortunately, starch is insoluble in water at room temperature and various methods are employed to improve its water solubility. One method involves conversion of free hydroxyl groups on starch glucose units into esters by reacting it with various anhydrides. Such chemical modification reduces the intramolecular H-bonding responsible for the high crystalinity, and, hence low solubility of starch. In the work described here, several chemically modified starches were prepared, formulated into dry film lubricants, and its friction properties investigated. The data was then analyzed to elucidate the mechanism of starch-oil interaction in such dry film lubricants.

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