Question

What is the major factor contributing to the difference in biodegradability between starch and cellulose?

Answer 1

Solution :-

The starch is biodegradable easily while the cellulose is not the major difference in the biodegradation of the two polymer is because the startch have the glucose monomer bonded with alpha linkage while the cellulose have the glucose molecules bonded with the beta linkage.

This difference in the bonding in the glucose molecules makes the large difference in the properties of the starch and cellulose.

So the major factor is the linkage between the glucose molecules in the stach and cellulose. starch is alpha linkage and cellulose is beta linkage of the glucose monomers to form the polymers.