In situ thermodielectric analysis of the gelatinization mechanism of raw maize starch: An experimental and theoretical approach

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Raw maize starch, initially stored at ambient temperature and relative humidity, was examined by means of Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy in the temperature range from 30 to 130 °C and in the frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz. The α-relaxation processes of amylose and amylopectin were, for the first time, separately recorded and analyzed by employing the electric modulus formalism, while the gelatinization mechanism is discussed and modeled. Molecular dynamics analysis, conducted via the Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann equation, and the Debye and Cole–Cole dielectric function models were employed to further understand the gelatinization process and the dielectric behavior of amylose and amylopectin respectively. In addition, the transformation of V-amylose to free amylose was also observed and discussed.