title: Polyelectrolyte Coacervates Deposited as High Gas Barrier Thin Films.
abstract: Multilayer coatings consisting of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes have proven to be extraordinarily effective oxygen barriers but require many processing steps to fabricate. In an effort to prepare high oxygen barrier thin films more quickly, a polyelectrolyte complex coacervate composed of polyethylenimine and polyacrylic acid is prepared. The coacervate fluid is applied as a thin film using a rod coating process. With humidity and thermal post-treatment, a 2 µm thin film reduces the oxygen transmission rate of 0.127 mm poly(ethylene terephthalate) by two orders of magnitude, rivalling conventional oxygen barrier technologies. These films are fabricated in ambient conditions using low-cost, water-based solutions, providing a tremendous opportunity for single-step deposition of polymeric high barrier thin films.
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Merid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haile
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Owais
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sarwar
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.|Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843, USA.
authors.forename: Jaime C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Grunlan
mesh_terms: D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004573:Electrolytes; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: coacervates; oxygen barriers; polyelectrolyte complexes; thin films