Characteristics of model polyelectrolyte multilayer films containing laponite clay nanoparticles

Polyelectrolyte films structure formed by the "layer-by-layer" (LbL) technique can be enriched by addition of charged nanoparticles like carbon nanotubes and silver or hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, which can improve properties of the polyelectrolyte films or modify their functionality. In our paper we examined the formation and properties of model polyelectrolyte multilayers containing a synthetic layered silicate, Laponite. The Laponite nanoparticles were incorporated into multilayer films, which were formed from weak, branched polycation PEI and strong polyanion PSS. Since charge of PEI is pH-dependent, we build up multilayer films in two deposition conditions: pH = 6 when PEI was strongly charged and pH = 10.5 when charge density of PEI was low. Thicknesses of the films constructed with various numbers of Laponite layers were measured by single wavelength ellipsometry. We also determined the differences in permeability for selected electroactive molecules using cyclic voltamperometry. Properties of the films containing clay nanoparticles were compared with model polyelectrolyte multilayer films PEI/PSS formed at the same conditions. We found that Laponite nanoparticles strongly influenced PEI/PSS multilayer film properties. Replacement of PSS by Laponite eliminated the oscillations of the film thickness in the case when PEI was weakly charged. PSS layer adsorbed on top of PEI/Laponite bilayers increased the thickness of multilayer films and improved their barrier properties so synergistic effects between these properties for polyelectrolytes and Laponite nanoparticles could be observed.