Multifunctional Barrier Research Articles

Densely Branched Carbon Nanotubes for Boosting the Electrochemical Performance of Li-S Batteries.

To address the inherent limitations of conventional carbon nanotubes (CNTs), such as their tendency to agglomerate and scarcity of catalytic sites, the development of branched carbon nanotubes (BCNTs) with a unique hierarchical structure has emerged as a promising solution. Herein, gram scale quantities of densely branched and structurally consistent Ni-Fe decorated branched CNTs (Ni-Fe@BCNT) have been prepared. This uniform and densely branched architecture ensures excellent dispersibility and superior electrical conductivity. Additionally, each branched tip is equipped with Ni-Fe particles, thereby providing numerous catalytic sites which endow them with exceptional catalytic activity for the conversion of polysulfides. The polypropylene (PP) separator modified with Ni-Fe@BCNT interlayer is fabricated as a multifunctional barrier for Li-S batteries. The experimental results demonstrate that Ni-Fe@BCNT interlayer can effectively suppress the shuttle effect of polysulfides and enhance their redox kinetics. The outstanding catalytic ability of Ni-Fe@BCNT interlayer enables batteries with high specific capacities, outstanding rate performance, and remarkable cycling stability. This approach proposed in this work paves a new path for synthesizing BCNTs and shows great potential for scaling up the production of BCNTs to address more demanding applications.

Histological, immune, and intestine microbiota responses of the intestine of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to high temperature stress

Fish intestine acts as a multifunctional barrier between the internal and external environments. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a type of cold-water salmonid species which is highly sensitive to temperature changes, but little is known about the systematically impact and regulatory mechanisms of high-temperature exposure on its intestinal health. This study designed three temperature treatment groups of rainbow trout, with 18 °C (elevated, T18) and 21 °C (elevated, T21) as high-temperature stress group, and 15 °C as the control group, to evaluate their effects on intestinal histology, immune response, and microbiota. The results showed that the fish growth was significantly inhibited under high temperature stress, and the susceptibility of fish to A. salmonicida significantly increased, with 100% mortality after 24 h challenge. In addition, histology results showed that both intestinal epithelium cells and goblet cells were significantly affected, leading to pathological damage. In the high temperature treatment groups, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL1β and IL8, increased while the expression level of IL6 decreased, and HSP90 mRNA related to cellular stress responses increased on day 4. Gut microbiota analysis revealed the microbial diversity decreased at T18 but increased at T21. The Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Fusobacteriota were dominant phylum in all treatment groups, and the abundance of Proteobacteria decreased while Firmicutes increased in the T18 group. KEGG pathways showed the category “environmental information processing” and “Human diseases” significantly increased at level 1, while “Immune system” and “Replication and repair” significantly decreased at level 2. These findings indicate that heat stress can promote intestinal damage and disrupt the homeostasis of gut microbiota in rainbow trout, providing insight into the crosstalk between gut immunity and microbiota in rainbow trout under heat stress.

Multifunctional barrier coating systems created by multilayer curtain coating

Functional coatings are applied to paper and paperboard substrates to provide resistance, or a barrier, against media such as oil and grease, water, water vapor, and oxygen, for applications such as food packaging, food service, and other non-food packaging. Today, there is increasing interest in developing recyclable and more sustainable approaches for producing these types of packages. This paper focuses on water-based barrier coatings (WBBC) for oil and grease resistance (OGR), water, moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), and oxygen barrier performance. The main goal is to create coated systems that can achieve more than one barrier property using multilayer curtain coating (MLCC) in a single application step. One advantage is in optimizing coating material cost with the use of functional chemistry in confined layers where performance is balanced within the coating layered structure. This allows simultaneous application of layers of different polymer types in one step to achieve the appropriate performance needs for a given barrier application. This paper provides working examples of using MLCC to create coating structures with multiple barrier properties in a single application pass. Barrier polymers studied include styrene butadiene, styrene acrylate, starch-containing emulsions, and polyvinyl alcohol. The paper also shows the effect of increasing the pigment volume concentration with platy clay or fine ground calcium carbonate on MVTR and OGR barrier properties.

Bio-inspired seaweed-based nanocomposite materials with excellent degradability and multifunctional barrier properties for green packaging

The widespread use of petroleum-based plastics brings potential hazards to the ecological environment. In order to solve this issue, the development of biodegradable materials with both high mechanical, barrier performances and food safety is imminent. In this work, a natural nacre-inspired seaweed-based nanocomposite material with the structure of “brick and mortar” is synthesized by rational assembling mica nanosheets in a mixture of glycerol and sodium alginate. The resultant SA/nano-mica film (1 wt% of phlogopite powder) shows high thermal stability (>180 °C) and exhibits great tensile strength of ∼ 16 MPa at ambient condition, surpassing some other reported nanocomposite materials (1.9–14.74 MPa). Meanwhile, the composite can be easily processed into different shapes for packaging applications, which could long-term preserve the freshness of foods owing to their strong ultraviolet (UV) shielding and gas barrier properties (UV transmittance of ∼ 4 % and oxygen transmission rates (100 µm) of ∼ 18.52 cc m−2 day−1 bar−1). Importantly, the material could completely degrade in soil within 15 days. These results indicate the great application prospect of seaweed-based nanocomposite materials in food packaging.

Multifunctional Oxidized Dextran-Metformin as a Tissue-Adhesive Hydrogel to Prevent Postoperative Peritoneal Adhesions in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.

Patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) undergoing surgery are at high risk of developing peritoneal adhesions and other severe postoperative complications. However, the single shielding function and absence of physiological activity render conventional methods less useful in preventing adhesions in patients with MetS. To address this challenge, a convenient method is introduced for developing a novel tissue-adhesive hydrogel called oxidized dextran-metformin (ODE-ME) via Schiff base linkages. This injectable ODE-ME hydrogel exhibits excellent tissue-adhesive properties and various physiological functions, particularly enhanced antibacterial effects. Furthermore, in vivo experiments demonstrate that the hydrogel can effectively alleviate hyperglycemia, reduce excessive inflammation, and improve fibrinolytic activity in MetS mice, thereby preventing adhesions and promoting incisional healing. The hydrogel concurrently isolates injured tissues and lowers the blood glucose levels immediately after surgery in mice. Therefore, the ODE-ME hydrogel functions as a multifunctional barrier material and has potential for preventing postoperative peritoneal adhesions in patients with MetS in clinical settings.

Characterization of the lithium concentration and distribution as a function of depth for alumina coatings after exposure to PbLi

The development of multifunctional barriers that prevent tritium leaks from the breeding blanket and corrosion of the structural steel is essential for safe, viable and cost-effective fusion reactor operation.Al2O3 coatings are considered to be one of the most promising options to act as tritium permeation barrier (TPB). However, previous studies have shown that lithium from the breeding blanket penetrates into these coatings and reacts with them forming lithium aluminate phases. The diffusion of lithium into the coating may influence its performance, particularly under neutron irradiation.In this study, we characterize the Li content and distribution as a function of depth for Al2O3 coatings deposited by pulsed laser deposition on EUROFER substrate after exposure to PbLi, at a constant temperature of 550 °C, for times of up to 7000 h, under stagnant conditions. We do it by using secondary ions mass spectroscopy and, a combination of ion beam analysis techniques (nuclear reaction analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy). Finally, we discuss the possible consequences of lithium diffusion in the coating performance under neutron irradiation in relation to the behavior of light species, produced out of transmutation reactions, and to the possible radiation induced change in the coating morphology.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)/porous silica nanosheet composite barrier for polysulfide shuttling inhibition in lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) is the key choice for the next generation of high energy density batteries, while the shuttle effect of polysulfides greatly limits its development. Constructing a multifunctional barrier layer has been proved to be an effective method to inhibit the shuttle of polysulfides. Herein, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)/2D porous silica nanosheets (PSN) composite is designed as the barrier layer. The surface oxygen-containing groups on both PSN and MoS2 enhance the adsorption for LiPSs, and the MoS2 plays a role of catalyst to facilitate the rapid polysulfide transformation. Meanwhile the abundant pores of PSN guide the uniform deposition of lithium on lithium metal anode, finally realizing the efficient transformation of lithium polysulfides and inhibition of lithium dendrites. The LSBs based on the MoS2/PSN barrier deliver high initial discharge capacity of 1521 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, low decay rate of 0.056% per cycle at 2 C over 600 cycles, and outstanding rate performance with a high discharge capacity of 649 mAh g−1 at 4 C. The corresponding pouch cells show high discharge capacity and cycling stability, further demonstrating the potential application of the composite barrier in high-energy-density LSBs.

Integrated halide perovskite photoelectrochemical cells with solar-driven water-splitting efficiency of 20.8%

Achieving high solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency concomitant with long-term durability using low-cost, scalable photo-absorbers is a long-standing challenge. Here we report the design and fabrication of a conductive adhesive-barrier (CAB) that translates >99% of photoelectric power to chemical reactions. The CAB enables halide perovskite-based photoelectrochemical cells with two different architectures that exhibit record STH efficiencies. The first, a co-planar photocathode-photoanode architecture, achieved an STH efficiency of 13.4% and 16.3 h to t60, solely limited by the hygroscopic hole transport layer in the n-i-p device. The second was formed using a monolithic stacked silicon-perovskite tandem, with a peak STH efficiency of 20.8% and 102 h of continuous operation before t60 under AM 1.5G illumination. These advances will lead to efficient, durable, and low-cost solar-driven water-splitting technology with multifunctional barriers.

Multifunctional G@UC3N4 modified separator for high-performance Li-S batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are known for their outstanding theoretical energy density and low cost. However, low sulfur utilization and shuttle effect of the lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) dissolved in the electrolyte seriously limit its commercialization. Herein, graphene@carbon nitride (G@UC3N4) composite modified separator is designed as a multifunctional barrier to enhance the performance of LSBs. UC3N4 with high specific surface area and high pyridinic nitrogen (N) content is prepared by simple secondary heat treatment method, achieving a double physical-chemical limitation for the shuttle of LiPSs. Meanwhile, graphene as a carrier for UC3N4 not only enhances the conductivity of the entire electrode but also accelerates the diffusion of Li+ and the penetration process of the electrolyte. LSBs assembled with G@UC3N4 polypropylene separator exhibit high initial specific capacity (1216.46 mAh g−1 at 1 C) and stable long cycling capability (average decay rate of only 0.047% after 1000 cycles at 2 C, with a coulombic efficiency consistently above 99%).

Light-Activated Chemically Reactive Fibrous Patch Revolutionizes Wound Repair Through the Prevention of Postoperative Adhesion.

A light-activated chemically reactive fibrous patch (ChemPatch) with tissue adhesion and wound healing activity was developed for preventing postoperative peritoneal adhesion. ChemPatch was constructed by an integrative electrospinning fabrication strategy, generating multifunctional PCL-NHS fibers encapsulating antioxidant curcumin and MnO2 nanoparticles. ChemPatch exhibited excellent photothermal conversion, which not only reformed the physical state to match the tissue but also improved conjugation between ChemPatch and tissues, allowing for strong attachment. Importantly, ChemPatch possessed good antioxidant and radical scavenging activity, which protected cells in an oxidative microenvironment and improved tissue regeneration. Particularly, ChemPatch acted as a multifunctional barrier and could not only promote reepithelialization and revascularization in wound defect model but simultaneously ameliorate inflammation and prevent postoperative peritoneal adhesion in a mouse cecal defect model. Thus, ChemPatch represents a dual-active bioadhesive barrier for reducing the incidence and severity of peritoneal adhesions.

Porous nanofibers comprising VN nanodots and densified N-doped CNTs as redox-active interlayers for Li–S batteries

A synthesis strategy to obtain hierarchically porous N-doped carbon (P–N–C) nanofibers (NFs) comprising VN nanodots and highly densified-entangled N-doped CNTs (N-CNTs) was visualized. The unique redox-active nanostructure was applied as a multifunctional interlayer for highly stable Li–S batteries (LSBs). The P–N–C skeleton obtained via selective removal of amorphous carbon (AC) and polystyrene (PS) not only guarantees efficient electrolyte percolation but also facilitates rapid diffusion of charged species during charge-discharge processes. Moreover, the N-CNTs constituting the fiber matrix increase the overall conductivity of the framework. Besides, highly conductive vanadium nitride (VN) nanodots act as chemisorption sites for efficient lithium polysulfide capturing and prohibit their diffusion towards the anode through efficient catalytic conversion, thus improving the elemental S utilization. The Li–S cells utilizing P–N–C@VN/N-CNT NF as a multifunctional barrier resulted in decent rate capabilities (559 mA h g−1 at 2.0 C) and long-term cycling stabilities at low and high C-rates (432 mA h g−1 after the 400th cycle at 0.1 C and 290 mA h g−1 at the end of 600th cycle at 1.0 C). This is attributed to the combined synergistic effects of the P–N–C framework, N-CNT matrix, and polar VN nanodots.

Multifunctional barrier membranes promote bone regeneration by scavenging H2O2, generating O2, eliminating inflammation, and regulating immune response

The injured bone microenvironment is typically characterized by high-level reactive oxygen species (ROS, mainly H2O2) and low content of oxygen. The former can cause cell apoptosis, induce immune imbalance and inflammation, inhibit osteogenic differentiation, and delay bone repair. In this work, barrier membranes made of a combination of hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAp NWs) and polylactic acid (PLA) loaded with manganese dioxide nanosheets (NSs) (HP@Mn) were prepared to guide bone regeneration (GBR). Due to the catalytic function of MnO2, HP@Mn membranes are able to effectively decompose H2O2 to generate O2. In vitro experiments demonstrated HP@Mn membranes inhibited the apoptotic process caused by high level of H2O2, decreased intracellular oxidative stress, suppressed inflammation-related gene/protein expression, and inhibited macrophage M1 polarization. The nanostructured HAp stimulated osteogenic differentiation, and the loading of MnO2 NSs played a synergistic effect. In addition, the barrier function of PLA could hamper the epithelium overgrowth, providing the development space for periodontal regeneration. By scavenging H2O2, generating O2, eliminating inflammation, and regulating immune response, HP@Mn membranes efficiently promoted bone regeneration. Our results confirmed that composite membranes have great potential for application in GBR, and provide a reference for future design of bone repair materials.

A Review of Transition Metal Compounds as Functional Separators for Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries

AbstractLithium‐sulfur (Li−S) batteries have great potential for the development of next‐generation high‐energy‐density secondary batteries owing to their high theoretical energy density, active material (sulfur) environmental friendliness, and low cost. However, their application is still impeded by the inherent sluggish kinetics and solubility of intermediate products of the sulfur cathode. Interface design is an important direction to address challenges in the development of Li−S batteries. The modification of the separator has been shown to effectively suppress the shuttling effect of physical hindrance or chemical bonding without affecting the utilization of active materials. This review encompasses the application of nanostructured transition metal oxides (TMOs), transition metal sulfides (TMSs), transition metal nitrides (TMNs), transition metal phosphides (TMPs), such as incorporating functional separators beyond the approach for preparing novel cathodes, and discusses their composites in a new multifunctional barrier layer for Li−S batteries. The objective properties of various metal compounds and the effect of the shuttle effect in particular on the electrochemical performance in Li−S batteries are highlighted, and give an outlook on the promising approaches for the construction of reliable Li−S batteries.

Nitrogen Removal Capacity of Microbial Communities Developing in Compost- and Woodchip-Based Multipurpose Reactive Barriers for Aquifer Recharge With Wastewater.

Global water supplies are threatened by climate changes and the expansion of urban areas, which have led to an increasing interest in nature-based solutions for water reuse and reclamation. Reclaimed water is a possible resource for recharging aquifers, and the addition of an organic reactive barrier has been proposed to improve the removal of pollutants. There has been a large focus on organic pollutants, but less is known about multifunctional barriers, that is, how barriers also remove nutrients that threaten groundwater ecosystems. Herein, we investigated how compost- and woodchip-based barriers affect nitrogen (N) removal in a pilot soil aquifer treatment facility designed for removing nutrients and recalcitrant compounds by investigating the composition of microbial communities and their capacity for N transformations. Secondary-treated, ammonium-rich wastewater was infiltrated through the barriers, and the changes in the concentration of ammonium, nitrate, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured after passage through the barrier during 1 year of operation. The development and composition of the microbial community in the barriers were examined, and potential N-transforming processes in the barriers were quantified by determining the abundance of key functional genes using quantitative PCR. Only one barrier, based on compost, significantly decreased the ammonium concentration in the infiltrated water. However, the reduction of reactive N in the barriers was moderate (between 21 and 37%), and there were no differences between the barrier types. All the barriers were after 1 year dominated by members of Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, although the community composition differed between the barriers. Bacterial classes belonging to the phylum Chloroflexi showed an increased relative abundance in the compost-based barriers. In contrast to the increased genetic potential for nitrification in the compost-based barriers, the woodchip-based barrier demonstrated higher genetic potentials for denitrification, nitrous oxide reduction, and dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonium. The barriers have previously been shown to display a high capacity to degrade recalcitrant pollutants, but in this study, we show that most barriers performed poorly in terms of N removal and those based on compost also leaked DOC, highlighting the difficulties in designing barriers that satisfactorily meet several purposes.

Synergistic Adsorption-Electrocatalysis of 2D/2D heterostructure toward high performance Li-S batteries

The shuttle effect of polysulfides and sluggish reaction kinetics have become current major obstacles for the development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, a novel 2D/2D heterostructure, consisting of ultrathin Ni-Co MOFs with rich unsaturated metal sites and conductive Ti3C2Tx nanosheets (Ti3C2Tx/Ni-Co MOF), is developed as a multifunctional barrier coated on commercial separators for Li-S batteries. Based on the synergistic adsorption-electrocatalysis, the modified separators not only suppress the dissolution of polysulfides and promote their conversion effectively, but also accelerate the electron/ion transfer. Moreover, density functional theory results further confirm that the heterostructure has strong adsorption energy for polysulfides and low energy barriers for their conversion. Li-S batteries with the Ti3C2Tx/Ni-Co MOF heterostructure modified separators exhibit an excellent reversible capacity of 1260 mAh g−1 at 0.2C and a remarkable cycling stability with capacity retention of 91.1 % at 0.5C after 350 cycles. When equipped with high sulfur loading of 5.8 mg cm−2 and low electrolyte/sulfur ratio of 4 uL mg−1, the cell maintains a superior capacity. This work provides a new route to the design of modified separators for high performance Li-S batteries with especially remarkable cycling stability.

Fabrication of chitosan/Cashew Nut Shell Liquid/plant extracts-based bio-formulated nanosheets with embedded iron oxide nanoparticles as multi-functional barrier resist eco-packaging material

Fabrication of chitosan/Cashew Nut Shell Liquid/plant extracts-based bio-formulated nanosheets with embedded iron oxide nanoparticles as multi-functional barrier resist eco-packaging material

Luminescence of Ti-Sapphire coatings prepared by plasma electrolytic oxidation and their application in temperature sensing

15 µm thick Ti-Sapphire coatings were synthesised at room temperature by the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) method for 20 min from the pure aluminium substrate and with the addition of the TiO2 particles in various concentrations in the supporting electrolyte. The coatings are featured by microscopic pores typical for PEO surfaces. The dominant is the alpha phase of alumina with the small presence of the gamma phase. The estimated average crystalline size is 41 nm. Ti is uniformly distributed in these polycrystalline ceramic coatings and does not affect morphology or phase content. Photoluminescence of PEO-created coatings shows typical absorption, excitation, and emission features of Ti-Sapphire with two broad-overlapping excitation bands in the green and blue spectral region due to the Jahn-Teller splitting of the 2Eg level and the Stokes shifted emission centred at 720 nm. 2Eg energy state splitting is equal to 2195 cm−1 and 10 Dq ≈ 19,300 cm−1. The highest emission intensity was observed in the coating prepared with the 0.1 g/L TiO2 powder concentration, i.e. 0.32 at% of incorporated Ti3+. Emission spectra recorded at temperatures ranging from 100 K to 300 K revealed the Mott-Seitz temperature dependence of emission intensity with the 1180 cm−1 activation energy. The fit to the McCumber-Sturge relation gave, for the first time, the value of Debye temperature of 594 K of Al2O3:Ti. Non-contact, luminescence temperature sensing from the temperature-induced changes in the emission bandwidth gave a high sensitivity of 3.2 cm−1 K−1 and 0.19 K temperature resolution. The PEO created Ti-sapphire coatings are a promising multifunctional barrier level – optical temperature sensor material for applications in harsh environments or on large aluminium surfaces. It shows potential to be used as a planar waveguide Ti-Sapphire laser active medium.

Ionic‐Liquid‐Assisted Synthesis of N, F, and B Co‐Doped CoFe2O4−x on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Enriched Oxygen Vacancies for Li–S Batteries

AbstractThe “shuttle effect,” sluggish redox kinetics, and short life cycle have seriously restricted the practical application of Li–S batteries. Herein, N, F, and B co‐doped NFBCoFe2O4−x on multiwalled carbon nanotubes’ (MWCNTs) (NFBCoFe2O4−x@MWCNTs) composite material with enriched oxygen vacancies (OVs) introduced by ionic liquids (ILs) does not only exhibit enhanced polysulfides trapping ability but also effectively accelerate the redox kinetics of polysulfides. A commercial Celgard polypropylene (PP) 2400 separator with NFBCoFe2O4−x@MWCNTs coating layer is fabricated as a multifunctional barrier for Li–S batteries. As a result, the battery based on the NFBCoFe2O4−x@MWCNTs separator demonstrates a stable electrochemical performance. Even under a high S loading of 8.0 mg cm−2, a desirable areal capacity of 4.62 mAh cm−2 can still be maintained over 200 cycles at a current density of 0.2 C. The prospective strategy of engineering OVs introduced by ILs provides novel insights into the development of Li–S batteries.

Polarity in cuticular ridge development and insect attachment on leaf surfaces of Schismatoglottis calyptrata (Araceae).

The plant cuticle is a multifunctional barrier that separates the organs of the plant from the surrounding environment. Cuticular ridges are microscale wrinkle-like cuticular protrusions that occur on many flower and leaf surfaces. These microscopic ridges can help against pest insects by reducing the frictional forces experienced when they walk on the leaves and might also provide mechanical stability to the growing plant organs. Here, we have studied the development of cuticular ridges on adaxial leaf surfaces of the tropical Araceae Schismatoglottis calyptrata. We used polymer replicas of adaxial leaf surfaces at various ontogenetic stages to study the morphological changes occurring on the leaf surfaces. We characterized the replica surfaces by using confocal laser scanning microscopy and commercial surface analysis software. The development of cuticular ridges is polar and the ridge progression occurs basipetally with a specific inclination to the midrib on Schismatoglottis calyptrata leaves. Using Colorado potato beetles as model species, we performed traction experiments on freshly unrolled and adult leaves and found low walking frictional forces of insects on both of these surfaces. The changes in the micro- and macroscale morphology of the leaves should improve our understanding of the way that plants defend themselves against insect herbivores.

Multifunctional barrier coating systems created by multilayer curtain coating

Functional coatings are applied to paper and paperboard substrates to provide resistance, or a barrier, against media such as oil and grease (OGR), water, water vapor as measured by moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), and oxygen, for applications such as food packaging, food service, and other non-food packaging. Typical functional barrier coatings can be created by applying a solid coating or extruded film, a solvent based-coating, or a water-based coating to the paper substrate using various means of coating applicators. This paper focuses on water-based barrier coatings (WBBC) for OGR, water, MVTR, and oxygen barriers. The main goal was to create coated systems that can achieve more than one barrier property using multilayer curtain coating (MLCC). Curtain coating has emerged as the premier low-impact application method for coated paper and paperboard. This paper provides examples using MLCC to create coating structures that provide multiple barrier properties in a single coating step. Barrier polymer systems studied include styrene butadiene, styrene acrylate, vinyl acrylic, and natural materials, as well as proprietary additives where required to give desired performance. The paper also shows how the specific coating layers can be optimized to produce the desired property profile, without concern for blocking, as the addition of a non-blocking top layer can be applied in the MLCC structure as well. Experiments on base sheet types also shows the importance of applying the multilayer structure on a pre-coated surface in order to improve coating thickness consistency and potentially allow for the reduction of more expensive layer components.