End-capped fluoroalkyl-functional silanes. Part II: Modification of polymers and possibility of multifunctional silanes

Abstract

This work reports the fluoroalkylation of polymer surfaces using novel oligomeric silanes having end-capped fluoroalkyl groups. Polymer surfaces such as cellulose, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polyethylene, and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) etc. were effectively modified by these oligomeric silanes as well as the glass surface. From the contact angle measurements, the dispersive and polar components of surface free energies were reduced to 15–20 and 1–3 mJ/m², respectively, and the surfaces were shown to be both highly water- and oil-repellent. Modified cellulose and PET surfaces were analyzed using XPS measurements. In the case of cellulose, a linear correlation was observed between the dispersive component of surface free energy γ_S ^d and the area ratio of the F1s peak to the Si2p peak. In the case of PET, the hickness of siloxane layer on the surface was shown to be less than 8 nm. The modified PET surface showed a high solvent durability against common organic and inorganic solvents except fluorochemicals and alkalis. The structure of the siloxane layer on the modified surface is discussed in terms of a network interphase model. It was also shown to be quite easy to add another function such as hydrophilicity (flip-flop character) and/or antibacterial property in addition to the water- and oil-repellency imparted by fluoroalkyl groups.

Keywords:

• oligomeric fluoroalkyl silanes
• surface modification
• end-capped fluoroalkyls
• contact angle
• surface free energy
• flip-flop silane
• antibacterial property