Perfluoropolyether-Functionalized Carbon-Based Materials and Their Applications

In the last decade, several carbon-based materials have been covalently functionalized with perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) moieties, and the properties of these PFPE-functionalized materials have been characterized to outline their possible applications. PFPE fluids are perfluorinated polymeric compounds which exhibit exceptional thermooxidative stability and chemical resistance, high gas permeability, low surface energy, good lubricity characteristics, and extended bioinertness. The covalent functionalization with PFPE chains modified the carbon-based materials and some of the typical properties of PFPEs, such as low surface energy and high gas permeability, were conferred to the functionalized surface. In addition, PFPE-functionalized materials remained thermally and chemically resistant, thanks to the stability of both starting materials. On the basis of these features, several applications of PFPE-functionalized carbon-based materials have been developed in the field of electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and lithium batteries, in self-lubricating surfaces and polymer formulation. Other applications in the field of separation techniques are based on the fluorous effect ascribable to PFPE chains.