Layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies have remarkable potential
as advanced
functional materials with applications in energy and biomedical related
areas. However, very little is known about their thermal and viscoelastic
properties owing to the inherent difficulty in their accurate measurement.
Here we report on the thermal behavior of a model LbL system containing
weak polyelectrolytes poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic
acid) (PAA) as a function of assembly solution pH. Quartz crystal
microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and modulated differential scanning
calorimetry (DSC) indicate that hydrated PAH/PAA LbL assemblies undergo
a thermal transition that is akin to a glass transition for most assembly
pH’s investigated, with the exception being the case where
both polyelectrolytes are fully charged. The nonmonotonic dependence
of the glass transition temperature of the PAH/PAA LbL system with
respect to assembly pH is discussed in relation to the film’s
hydration, composition, film-growth mechanism (linear vs exponential),
and ion-pairing density.
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