Preparation and Surface Properties of Fluorinated Acrylates Copolymers

Copolymerization of acrylates and styrene (St) with perfluorooctylacyloxyethyl methacrylate (FA) monomer, prepared from the reaction of perfluorooctanoic acid and hydroxymethyl methacrylate, was carried out by solution polymerization. The fluorinated acrylate and St copolymers (PFA) were examined by GPC, FT-IR, and ¹H NMR. The surface tension of the PFA solution in N-methyl pyrrolidone was tested by the drop volume method. The results showed that the surface tension of the PFA solution decreased in exponential decay with increase of the PFA concentration, and the surface tension of the solution also decreased with increased addition of the FA monomer in the copolymer at the same concentration. Meanwhile, the adsorption of the PFA macromolecules in the air–solution interface increased and enrichment of the fluorinated segments on the solution surface occurred. The studies of the surface free energy, polarity, fluorine content, and morphology of the PFA films illustrated that the surface free energy and polarity of the PFA films were decreased with the augment of the FA monomer in the copolymers, and that the fluorine content and the surface roughness were increased. The surface free energy of the PFA film was as small as 16.6 mN·m^?1. The surface properties of the PFA copolymers obtained by one shot feed during polymerization were superior to those obtained by continuing feed procedure. More fluorine segregation occurred and induced the formation of a fluorine-enriched surface if the PFA copolymer was postheated. The posttreatment was thus beneficial to the improvement of the surface properties of the PFA film.