1 research outputs found
Ultrathin, Flexible, and Transparent Polymer Multilayer Composites for the Protection of Silver Surfaces
Silver coatings at the nanoscale became of high interest
for the
integration of electronic functionalities on all kinds of objects
for daily use. In these thin coatings, corrosion is a big problem
as it destroys these thin layers and leads to a loss of conductivity
due to missing bulk material. For protection of thin silver coatings
against H<sub>2</sub>S induced corrosion, we developed nanocoatings
based on the covalent layer-by-layer technique. We prepared composites
by subsequent deposition of polyamines like polyethylenimine (PEI)
or polyallylamine (PAAm) and polyanhydrides like poly(maleic anhydride-<i>alt-</i>methyl vinyl ether) (Gantrez) or poly(styrene-<i>co</i>-maleic anhydride) (PSMA). For the tuning of the hydrophobicity,
the layers were terminated by reaction with palmitoylic acid derivatives.
Reflectivity measurements, contact angle measurements, and AFM measurements
were made to investigate how the coatings affect the surface properties.
All coatings show a lower reflectivity below 450 nm compared to pure
silver, depending on the number of layers deposited. The addition
of a palmitoylic derivative to the surface increases the hydrophobicity,
but only in case of the Gantrez-PVAm-composite, this approach leads
to real hydrophobicity, reaching contact angles above 90°. AFM
measurements show a decrease of the roughness of the polymer coated
surfaces compared to the pure metal surfaces. Corrosion tests in a
H<sub>2</sub>S atmosphere show a good protective effect of the palmitoyl-terminated
composites. Martindale abrasion tests on coated textiles reveal a
good stability of the prepared polymer composites