Chemical fixation of polyelectrolyte multilayers on polymer substrates

Abstract

A simple chemical fixation method for the fabrication of layer-by-layer (LbL) polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) has been developed to create a large area, highly uniform film for various applications. PEM of weak polyelectrolytes, i.e., polyallylamine hydrogen chloride (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid)(PAA), was assembled on polymer substrates such as poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). In the case of a weak polyelectrolyte, the fabricated thin film thickness of the polyelectrolyte multilayers was strongly dependent on the pH of the processing solution, which enabled the film thickness or optical properties to be controlled. On the other hand, the environmental stability for device application was poor. In this study, we utilized the chemical fixation method using glutaraldehyde (GA)-amine reaction in order to stabilize the polyelectrolyte multilayers. By simple treatment of GA on the PEM film, the inherent morphology was fixed and the adhesion and mechanical strength were improved. Both surface tension and FT-IR measurements supported the chemical cross-linking reaction. The surface property of the polyelectrolyte films was altered and converted from hydrophilic to hydrophobic by chemical modification. The possible application to antireflection coating on PMMA and PC was demonstrated.

Immobilization of polyelectrolyte multilayer on polymer substrate by multicomponent reaction

“…After the plate was treated by MgCl 2 at pH 2.3, the transmittance of the film was evidently increased up to 98% due to the porosity of AR film. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Samples treated by GA and CI also have higher transmittance values than that of PMMA itself, although the value is lower than the former case. This is because GA and CI solutions can easily penetrate into the porous holes of the PEM and induce to chemically cross-link.…”

Preparation and characterization of ethylcellulose-based microcapsules for sustaining release of a model fragrance

“…BTCA was used primarily for crosslinking. Glutaraldehyde, a frequently used crosslinking agent 13,14 was also applied in some preliminary experiments, though the capsules prepared possessed unpleasant smell and glutaraldehyde is toxic, thus, it was not applicable for this purpose. Badulescu et al 7 proved using Fourier transform infrared analysis that EC-vanillin capsules can be efficiently bound to textile covalently, as ester bonds were formed between hydroxyl groups of EC and carboxyl groups of BTCA.…”

Crosslinking poly(allylamine) fibers electrospun from basic and acidic solutions

“…1) thus reducing its ability to react with the aldehyde (Fig. 5a) of GA [36]. It is known that at low pH, the carbinolamine (Fig.…”

“…5). PAH has one amine group, which acts as the site for crosslinking with GA [36]. Each GA molecule has two crosslinking sites.…”