Determination of fouling tendency, salt stability and viscoelastic properties of the multilayered functional coatings


Müftüler A., Tümer E. H., Cengiz H. Y., DELİGÖZ H.

Colloid and Polymer Science, vol.304, no.4, pp.861-876, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 304 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s00396-026-05572-2
  • Journal Name: Colloid and Polymer Science
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, EMBASE, INSPEC
  • Page Numbers: pp.861-876
  • Keywords: Coating, Fouling, Layer stability, QCM-D, Viscoelasticity
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Fouling caused by the retention of salt ions within functional coatings remains a major challenge for long-term performance. Here, our endeavor is to investigate the multiple parameters, including layer stability, fouling tendency and swelling properties of the polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) as a function of the coating structure and ionic strength of the salt solution. The behavior of multilayered coatings composed of poly(vinylamine hydrochloride) (PVA), poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH), poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) against synthetic seawater, NaCl and MgCl2 solutions is monitored using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D). None of the PEMs show degradation against synthetic seawater. Nevertheless, 6 M NaCl causes multilayer disintegration in PAH-PSS, PAH-PAA, and PVA-PSS coatings while 2 M MgCl2 leads to disassembly in PVA-PSS. Notably, PVA-PAA coating does not lose its layer stability against salt solutions and retained a certain amount of salt (18% NaCl and 14% MgCl2) within the multilayers after rinsing, potentially enhancing fouling. We show that the void fraction (ϕvoid) of PAA-containing PEMs is bigger than that of PSS-containing PEMs, reaching 0.19. The significant swelling reversibility of PAH-PSS and PVA-PAA during salt solution exposure may benefit applications such as membrane, drug release, or non-fouling adsorption systems.