Inorganic-organic polymers with barrier properties for water vapor, oxygenand flavors

With a new kind of barrier coating material, inorganic-organic polymers, it is possible to obtain high-barrier properties with respect to the permeati on rates of oxygen, water vapor and volatile organic compounds. The hybrid polymers are accessible via the sol-gel technique. The inorganic network is formed as a result of controlled hydrolysis and condensation of alkoxysilanes, organoalkoxysilanes, acryloxysilanes or metal alcoholates. The organic network results from subsequent thermal or UV-induced polymeriz ation of organo-functional groups. Due to the control of the inorganic and organic network densities and the i nsertion of specific functional groups to control the polarity of the resul ting material, it was possible to develop high-barrier coatings with excell ent adhesion properties on a wide variety of polymer films. These high-barrier coatings are also suitable as adhesives which can be use d in laminates. The properties of the processable multilayer structures are preserved to a much higher extent than with other comparable, commercially available materials even under high mechanical and thermal stress and stor age in humidity.