Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembled Coatings: A Novel Surface Functionalization Technology Achieves Industrial Scale
(Room Room 104-C)
30 Apr 19
11:00 AM
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11:20 AM
Tracks:
Enabling Sustainability — NexGen Tech for Coatings, Surface Engineering and Smart Manufacturing
Self-limiting surface functionalization techniques such as Atomic or Molecular Layer Deposition (ALD / MLD) have great appeal to the surface engineering and coating industry due to their precisely controllable thickness, uniform coverage, and predictable morphology. Although not a vacuum-coating technology, wet-applied Layer-by-Layer (LbL) employs electrostatic self-assembly at the nanoscale to achieve similar coating characteristics for a wide range of applications. LbL can play an important role in complementing vacuum deposition methods, especially now that it has been scaled to industrial Roll-to-Roll (R2R) format.
Although LbL has been investigated in the academic realm for over twenty years, it took a breakthrough in process technology to advance the technique from a batch-based process to a continuous multi-layer concept that is suitable for large-scale R2R manufacturing.
This talk will present a brief background of the underlying principle of electrostatic self-assembly, and how the constraints of bench-top processing have been overcome to enable industrial scale-up. Perspectives of how LbL fits in with other precision coating methods will be shared, as well as the scale of current production equipment. A range of application examples that LbL can address will be presented as well do document the surface engineering relevance of this technique.