Enhanced hydrophobicity of polyurethane with the self-assembly of perfluoropolyether-based triblock copolymers

Abstract The self-assemblies of poly(isobornyl methacrylate)m-b-perfluoropolyether-b-poly(isobornyl methacrylate)m (BCPm) in mixed 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane/N,N-dimethylformamide (F113/DMF) solvent were used to improve the surface hydrophobicity of polyether-based polyurethane (PU). With the loading of BCPm micelles into the PU, the surface roughness and the fluorine content in the surface were effectively enhanced, leading to the significant increase of water contact angle (WCA) from 73° to 140°. This improvement was much more pronounced than that of PU containing only perfluoropolyether units at the same fluorine content level due to higher surface roughness. For the hybrid coatings prepared from BCPm with different degrees of polymerization (DP) of poly(isobornyl methacrylate) blocks, the water repellency reached the maximum at the DP of 10. In addition, the hybrid coatings exhibited excellent mechanical durability and acid-alkali resistance, which is beneficial for broadening the application scenarios of cotton fabrics. Altogether, the self-assembly of perfluoropolyether based copolymers with high surface hydrophobicity shows potential applications in the protection of polymeric materials.