Thermo-responsive gas barrier membranes were fabricated using acrylamide–acrylonitrile copolymers and layered double hydroxides. The membranes exhibited temperature-dependent behavior, showing enhanced water vapor barrier properties below 40 °C and reduced performance at 50 °C. Such characteristics are attractive for packaging applications in logistics, where fluctuating temperatures can affect perishable products. By providing stronger barrier properties at lower temperatures and allowing increased permeability at higher temperatures, these membranes may help mitigate condensation-related damage during transportation. FT-IR analysis revealed a slight low-wavenumber shift in the amide absorption peaks upon LDH incorporation, suggesting molecular-level interactions between the copolymer matrix and the inorganic layers. These findings indicate that combining UCST-type copolymers with LDH fillers offers a promising approach for developing membranes with tunable gas barrier performance for future smart packaging systems.
Ikeda et al. (Sat,) studied this question.