## 3 Results
### Thermal Properties  
Figure 6 shows the TGA and first derivative (DTG) curves obtained for the TPS and TPSDH films and their microcomposites films prepared with CMFs. Table 5 gathers the thermal stability parameters, namely T\({}_{\text{onset}}\), T\({}_{\text{final}}\), and T\({}_{\text{deg}}\) as well as the mass loss at T\({}_{\text{deg}}\). One can observe that fiber incorporation did not notably influence the thermal degradation properties of the TPS and TPSDH films. In particular, the TPS films showed the main degradation event ranging at approximately 150-455 \({}^{\circ}\)C, corresponding to a mass loss of nearly 80% with a T\({}_{\text{deg}}\) value of 341 \({}^{\circ}\)C. This event is associated with the thermal decomposition of glycerol [71], starch [28; 72], and CMFs. Figure 6a shows the thermal decomposition profile of the CMF fractions, showing the previously reported mass loss steps [35]: evaporation of bonded water (30-140 \({}^{\circ}\)C), cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition (177-350 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and lignin degradation (350-500 \({}^{\circ}\)C). The second thermal degradation step is referred as the \"active pyrolysis zone\" since the mass loss rate is high, whereas the third one is called \"passive pyrolysis zone\" since the percentage of mass loss is smaller, and the mass loss rate is also much lower compared to that in the second zone [73]. In relation to the degradation profile of the TPS films, the sample containing 5 wt% CMFs exhibited slightly higher mass loss from 180 to 280 \({}^{\circ}\)C, which can be attributed to the thermal degradation of the cellulose fractions, more noticeable due to its high content. However, this TPS5 sample was more stable than the other TPS films in the thermal range of 280-310 \({}^{\circ}\)C (see Figure 6a,c), suggesting that the CMF incorporation delayed the thermal degradation of the shortest chains of starch produced during its thermo-processing [74]. Regarding the TPSDH films, these samples exhibited a slight initial mass loss (3-5%) in the thermal range from approximately 50 to 150 \({}^{\circ}\)C, which is ascribed to evaporation of water adsorbed in the inner regions of the non-gelatinized starch granules and it may also derive from thermal decomposition of low-molecular weight (M\({}_{\text{W}}\)) components produced during the DH treatment [54]. This mass loss can be observed in Figure 6b, where the mass loss curves of the TPS and TPSDH films were compared. As shown in Table 4 and also Figure 6d, TPSDH films exhibited slightly higher T\({}_{\text{deg}}\) values than the TPS films. This thermal stability enhancement may be attributed to the presence of C=O and -COOH groups produced by the heat treatment of starch that allows for more -H bonds between the polymer chains [68]. Furthermore, the non-gelatinized starch granules, with more crystalline regions, could also contribute to the resultant thermal behavior. In the TPSDH films, the concentration increases in CMFs also implied a slight increase in the thermal stability, which could be due to the increasing presence of starch granules in the matrix. Finally, DSC analysis was also performed to evaluate the effect of the starch modification by DH and CMF incorporation on the thermal phase transitions of starch. The first heating scans, gathered in Figure 7, showed the typical endotherm of starch gelatinization associating peak temperatures in the 55-110 \({}^{\circ}\)C range for the film samples of TPSDH and TPS with the highest CMF loadings (TPS3 and TPS5). This agrees with the above-reported FESEM observations that revealed the presence of non-gelatinized starch granules in the