A plug and socket approach for tightening polyelectrolyte multilayers.

A plug and socket approach for tightening polyelectrolyte multilayers is introduced based on the use pendant ß-cyclodextrin groups. Prototypical multilayers derived from poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) and ß-cyclodextrin-containing poly(4-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride) are described. Evidence for tightened multilayers has been obtained from gas permeation, swelling and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) measurements.

pKa-Dependent Facilitated Transport of CO2 across Hyperthin Polyelectrolyte Multilayers.

Hyperthin (ca. 20-30 nm thick) polyelectrolyte multilayers have been fabricated that are capable of facilitated transport of CO2. These membranes were fabricated from polycations bearing pendant groups of varying basicity plus poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) as a polycounterion. A strong dependency of such transport on the basicity of the pendant groups (i.e., fixed carrier sites) has been found, where pKa values in the range of ca. 5-7 appear optimal.