Plastic containers with an external gas barrier coating

A system for making coated plastic containers each possessing a gas barrier and comprising a plastic container body and a thin coating, the system comprising:

• a vacuum cell capable of maintaining a vacuum within the vacuum cell;
• a container feeder for supplying the plastic container bodies into and withdrawing the coated plastic containers out from the vacuum cell, the plastic container bodies each having an external surface and an interior surface defining an interior space;
• a conveyor within the vacuum cell for conveying the plastic container bodies through the vacuum cell;
• at least one source disposed in the vacuum cell for supplying a coating vapor to the external surface of the plastic container bodies as the plastic container bodies are conveyed through the vacuum cell, the at least one source of coating vapor including an evaporator for heating and evaporating an inorganic coating material to fonn the coatino, vapor;
• and
• a gas feed for supplying at least one reactive gas to an interior of the vacuum cell;
• the at least one source of coating vapor and the conveyor structured and arranged within the vacuum cell such that (a) the coating vapor from the at least one source reacts with the reactive gas and deposits the thin coating on the external surface of the containers, (b) the thin coating comprises an inorganic compound and bonds to the external surface of the plastic container bodies, and (c) the resulting coated plastic containers, when containing a pressurized fluid sealed in the interior space at a pressure of 60 psig (4.1 bars), possess a gas barrier of at least 1.25× the gas barrier of the plastic container bodies without the thin coating, when the plastic container bodies without the coating contain a pressurized fluid sealed in the interior space at a pressure of 60 psig (4.1 bars).