Oriented polypropylene (OPP) film is widely used in packaging. Various techniques such as vapor deposited SiOx and AlxOy and polymer-clay nanocomposites coatings have been applied to improve the gas barrier of OPP film, but these approaches lead to loss of flexibility and transparency. Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly provides a cost-effective alternative. In this study, commercial OPP film was coated with polymer-clay LbL gas barrier nanocoatings, which improved oxygen and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). A 30 bilayer polyethylenimine (PEI)/vermiculite (VMT) LbL coating improved the OTR by more than 160X, rivaling most inorganic coatings. WVTR was simultaneously reduced by 42.5% relative to uncoated OPP. This water-based technology is both effective and scalable.

High oxygen and moisture barrier of oriented polypropylene film with multilayer thin-film nanocoatings

251st National Meeting (2016)

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