Polyelectrolyte Multilayers and Complexes to Modify Secondary Interactions in Ethylene--methacrylic Acid Ionomers.

Ethylene--methacrylic acid (EMAA) ionomers are incorporated into polyelectrolyte complexes and thin films fabricated with the layer-by-layer technique using mixed solvent systems of THF and water. EMAA ionomers have been reported to have self-healing properties. The thin films were optically clear and can be made as a coating or freestanding. Their composition was determined with elemental analysis. DSC showed these polymer blend materials to have suppressed polyethylene crystallinity compared to bulk EMAA and an increased amount of energy required to create the order-to-disorder transition of disrupting the associations between the ionic groups of the ionomer.