The influence of attaching hydrophobic side groups to a polyelectrolyte used for thin film deposition of oxygen gas barriers was investigated. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was labeled with pyrene and deposited in ‘quadlayers’ (QL) of PEI, poly(acrylic acid), and sodium montmorillonite clay using layer-by-layer assembly. Thin films made of four repeating quadlayers, using unmodified PEI-based films, were less dense (1.24 g/cm<sup>3</sup>) compared to pyrene-labeled PEI-based films (1.45 g/cm<sup>3</sup>), which is believed to be the result of greater chain coiling from the increased hydrophobicity of pendant pyrene groups. This increased mass deposited in pyrene-labeled PEI led to denser films that allowed 3 QL to match the oxygen transmission rate of a 4 QL film made with unmodified PEI.

Increasing hydrophobic interactions in a polyelectrolyte for improved oxygen barrier in multilayer nanocomposite thin films

249th National Meeting (2015)

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