| Abstract: | To discover new synthesis technology and increase the degree of substitution (DS) of carboxymethyl starch (CMS), ultrasound‐modified CMS (U‐CMS) was successfully prepared under ultrasonic irradiation in the alkali condition with corn starch (CS) as the raw material, ethyl alcohol as the solvent, and monochloroacetic acid as the carboxymethylated reagent. The effects of ultrasound conditions (ultrasonic action sequence, ultrasonic radiation time, and ultrasonic power) and etherification time after ultrasonic irradiation on DS of U‐CMS were studied separately through single‐factor experiments. Meanwhile, the granule morphology, crystal type, and molecular structure of U‐CMS were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR). The results showed that DS of U‐CMS prepared under certain conditions (ultrasonic radiation time before alkalization, 40 min; ultrasonic radiation temperature, 35°C; ultrasonic power, 170 W; and etherification time, 180 min) improved 38.7% compared with that without ultrasonic radiation. The SEM, XRD, and FT‐IR results illustrated that crystal‐type change of the starch granule after ultrasonic irradiation was not obvious. However, the number of sunken points and holes on the granule surface increased, so that the specific surface expanded, which improved the carboxymethylation. |
