FRACTAL STRUCTURE OF DEFORMED POTATO STARCH AND ITS SORPTION CHARACTERISTICS

A deformation of microstructure was attempted on native potato starch and the change in the microstructure was analyzed from the fractal view point. The surface area calculated from the monolayer molecular number was different depending on the molecules used (Ar, N2, Kr, 1‐propanol, and benzene), which showed the surface microstructure was a fractal with the dimension 2.1‐2.4. The specific surface area measured using N2 and benzene was a function of the mean diameter of the material particles, which also showed that the porous structure of the particle was a fractal with the dimension 2.2‐3.0. On the other hand, the sorption isotherm of water vapor was independent of particle diameter. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved