Gas-Barrier Hybrid Coatings by the Assembly of Novel Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Reduced Graphene Oxide Layers through Cross-Linking with Zirconium Adducts

Abstract

Gas-barrier materials obtained by coating poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates have already been studied in the recent literature. However, because of the benefits of using cheaper, biodegradable, and nonpolar polymers, multilayered hybrid coatings consisting of alternate layers of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets and a novel high amorphous vinyl alcohol (HAVOH) with zirconium (Zr) adducts as binders were successfully fabricated through a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly approach. Atomic force microscopy analysis showed that rGO nanoplatelets were uniformly dispersed over the HAVOH polymer substrate. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies revealed that multilayer (HAVOH/Zr/rGO)n hybrid coatings exhibited a brick-wall structure with HAVOH and rGO as buildings blocks. It has been shown that 40 layers of HAVOH/Zr/rGO ultrathin films deposited on PET substrates lead to a decrease of 1 order of magnitude of oxygen permeability with respect to the pristine PET substrate. This is attributed to the effect of zirconium polymeric adducts, which enhance the assembling efficiency of rGO and compact the layers, as confirmed by NMR characterization, resulting in a significant increment of the oxygen-transport pathways. Because of their high barrier properties and high flexibility, these films are promising candidates in a variety of applications such as packaging, selective gas films, and protection of flexible electronics.

Anti‐Oxygen Leaking LiCoO2

“…Therefore, by reduction of GO to rGO and reduction of interlayer distance from 10 to 4 Å, the diffusivity of molecules can be effectively decreased . In another study, the layer by layer deposition of few layer rGO through electrostatic bond formation (similar to our case) is shown to decrease the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) of poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrates by 95% . In another work, rGO/polyimide films prepared by in situ polymerization showed to decrease the OTR by 93% compared to pure PI films .…”

Transport and solvent sensing characteristics of styrene butadiene rubber nanocomposites containing imidazolium ionic liquid modified carbon nanotubes

“…Detailed procedure for solvent transport study is reported in our previous study. [13] The gas permeability analysis was done by Lyssy gas permeability tester (L100-5000) Switzerland. Samples with dimensions of 12 cm length, 10 cm breadth, and 1 mm thickness were used.…”

“…Gas-barrier materials obtained by incorporating various nano fillers have also been well studied by various researchers. [13][14][15] MWCNT can be considered as an ideal reinforcing material which can advance the barrier properties of polymers. [16][17][18][19] Sensing materials have become one of the emerging areas in material science due to their amazing applications in industry, biomedical, and environmental fields.…”

Improvements in the oxygen barrier property of polypropylene nanocomposites

“…For this reason, scientists have studied ways of improving the oxygen barrier property of the polymer. Some of the methods that have recently been studied in controlling oxygen permeability include crystallization or crosslinking, using side‐chain liquid crystalline polymers or introducing a substance that could react with the permeating gas, or using filler to complicate the path, namely, gas permeation retardation . Especially, research works have been carried out to reduce the oxygen permeability of the polymer matrix up to 80% by using a complex method of controlling crystallization and crosslinking with modified nanofillers …”