Ultra Gas-Proof Polymer Hybrid Thin Layer

Hermetic sealing is an important technology for isolating and protecting air-sensitive materials and is key in the development of foldable and stretchable electronic devices. Here we report an ultra gas-proof polymer hybrid thin layer prepared by filling the free volume of the polymer with Al2O3 using gas-phase atomic layer infiltration. The high-density polymer–inorganic hybrid shows extremely low gas transmission rate, below the detection limit of the Ca corrosion test (water vapor transmission rate –7 g m–2 day–1). Furthermore, because of the remarkable nanometer-scale thinness of the complete polymer–inorganic hybrid, it is highly flexible, which makes it useful for hermetic sealing of stretchable and foldable devices