The hypothesis of the present study is that thin multiple layer coatings on paperboard from the aqueous solutions of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) at high machine speeds is more effective in terms of barrier properties than one or two thick layers. The objectives included attempts to use surface roughness parameters to understand the coating process and mechanisms behind coating defects. The present study is focused on pilot-scaled PVOH coating onto uncoated paperboard at machine speeds of 400 m/min. The multiple coating operation was carried out in six passes with a dry coat weight of about 1 g/m² in each layer. The concept of thin multiple coatings resulted in coated surfaces without detected pinholes and with Kit rating 12 after only two thin layers. However, the oxygen transmission rates were still fairly high (100 ± 89 cm³/m² day atm) after six layers, and some coating defects (such as craters and cracks) could be identified. The analyses of surface structure indicated that the surface properties are affected by water uptake during the coating processes. The compression of paperboard beneath the metering element seemed to be required to achieve homogeneous thin layers. However, an analysis of defects revealed flaws and inhomogeneities near objects protruding from the surface, such as surface fibers and craters, caused by blistering. For rough paperboard substrates, the desired barrier properties may require a careful balance between sufficient compression for fiber coverage and gentle compression in order to avoid defects near craters and surface fibers.

Enzymes catalyzing oxygen scavenging were embedded in latex-based coatings with and without barrier kaolin clay to produce material for active packages. The clay was used to create a porous structure, and the closed-structure matrix consisted of a biopolymer comprising either starch or gelatin to increase the water uptake of the coating. The effects of the porous open structure and of the water uptake of the coated layer on the oxygen-scavenging ability of the embedded enzymes were examined at both 75% and 100% relative humidity. The results showed that the porous clay structure led to higher oxygen-scavenging capacity than that of a closed structure at both test conditions by enabling a high diffusion rate for oxygen and glucose to the active sites of the enzymes. The addition of a water-holding biopolymer did not always significantly affect the oxygen-scavenging capacity. However for a less-porous layer at 100% relative humidity, an increase in the amount of biopolymer resulted in an increase in oxygen-scavenging capacity. The results were treated statistically using multiple-factor analysis where the most important factor for the oxygen-scavenging ability was found to be the addition of clay. The coatings were also characterized with respect to water vapor uptake, overall migration, porosity, and scanning electron microscopy images.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) was fabricated from cellulose pulp using in-house mechanical fibrillation equipment. Subsequently, freestanding MFC films were fabricated with in-house developed hot-plate drying technique. The MFC films were tested as substrate materials for printed electronics patterns. Conducting patterns were fabricated on the MFC films using screen printing and vacuum evaporation. Electrical conductivity of the fabricated patterns was measured using four-wire technique. It was shown that the MFC films are suitable substrate materials for printing of functional electronic ink patterns, and thermal annealing of the patterns.