Preparation and surface properties of acrylic copolymers containing fluorinated monomers

A series of copolymers comprising butylmethacrylate, styrene, butylacrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate and perfluoroalkyl methacrylate were synthesized by the free radical polymerization using BPO as an initiator. The surface property of the copolymer films was subsequently characterized. The contact angle measurements and energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) show that the length and content of perfluoroalkyl side chains in the copolymers are crucial for the preparation of the film with low surface energy. At a given content of fluorinated monomers in the copolymers, the longer the perfluoroalkyl side chain, the larger the water contact angle of the copolymer films will be. On the other hand, the higher the content of fluorinated monomers, the lower the surface energy is. The water contact angle increases with the increase of the fluorinated monomer content and reaches a plateau at 3 wt% of fluorinated monomer content.