Nano-Brick Wall Architectures Account for Super Oxygen Barrier PET Film by Quadlayer Assembly of Polyelectrolytes and α-ZrP Nanoplatelets

Abstract

Nanobrick wall hybrid coating with super oxygen barrier properties were fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film using a quadlayer (QL) assembly of polyelectrolytes and nanoplateles. A quadlayer assembly consists of three repeat units of polyacrylic acid (PAA), poly (dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA) and layered α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP). PDDA with positive charges can assemble alternatively with both α-ZrP and PAA with negative charges to form nanobrick wall architectures on the surface of PET film via the electrostatic interaction. The lamellar structure of α-ZrP platelets and the dense QL assembly coating can greatly reduce the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of PET film. Compared to pristine PET film, the OTR of PET (QL)₁₉ is reduced from 57 to 0.87 cc/m²/day. Moreover, even with 19 QLs coating, PET (QL)₁₉ composite film is still with an optical transparency higher than 90% and a haze lower than 10%. Therefore, the transparent PET (QL)_n composite films with super oxygen barrier properties show great potential application in food packaging and flexible electronic packaging.