title: Transparent and robust siloxane-based hybrid lamella film as a water vapor barrier coating.
abstract: Water vapor barriers are important in various application fields, such as food packaging and sealants in electronic devices. Polymer/clay composites are well-studied water vapor barrier materials, but their transparency and mechanical strength degrade with increasing clay loading. Herein, we demonstrate films with good water vapor barrier properties, high transparency, and mechanical/thermal stability. Water vapor barrier films were prepared by the solution crystallization of siloxane hybrid lamellae. The films consist of highly crystallized organic/inorganic hybrid lamellae, which provide high transparency, hardness, and thermal stability and inhibit the permeation of water vapor. The water permeability of a 6 μm thick hybrid film is comparable to that of a 200 μm thick silicon rubber film.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University , Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokudome
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Risa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
keywords: gas barrier film; hybrid film; lamella; sol−gel; water vapor transmission rate