Pore size distributions in polyelectrolyte multilayers determined by nuclear magnetic resonance cryoporometry

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are thin films, which are assembled one molecular layer at a time, by alternatingly adsorbing polycations and polyanions making use of their attractive electrostatic interaction. Since the porosity of PEMs is one of the properties of major interest, in the current work the first pore size distribution of PEMs in samples consisting of silica particles coated with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) is presented. To this end, the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) cryoporometry technique was applied. The proton NMR signal of liquid water is analyzed assuming a log normal distribution of motional correlation times. From the results, it is possible to determine the size of water sites in the layers to around 1 nm. In addition, a slight variation with the number of layers is found. The average pore size agrees with cutoff sizes found in permeation experiments.