Inkjet printing of alternate layers of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes
allows organized gels to form with structures similar to those made by
layer--by-layer dipping methods but very much faster. Structures of gels
formed using slow and fast inkjet printing systems are compared using
elemental analysis, swelling and diffusion kinetics as characterization
methods. After printing and washing, most sodium or chloride counter-ions
are last from the gel, leave only the polymer complex. The swelling
properties of the printed and washed gel depend on the deposition rate and
on the ratio of the two polymers as originally printed. The synthetic
polyelectrolytes reported here can be compared with biological
polyelectrolytes reported earlier by us.