Surface energy of polyester and viscose fibres modified with polyfluoroalkyl acrylates

The comparative effectiveness of using polyfluoroalkyl acrylates of different structure to decrease the surface energy of viscose and polyester fibres was investigated. It was found that polyfluoroalkyl acrylates with a linear alkyl radical of optimum length (6–8 fluorinated atoms) were the most effective in decreasing the surface energy of viscose and polyester fibres; branching of the fluoroalkyl radical and appearance of oxygen atoms in the perfluorinated radical decreased the effectiveness of the modifier polymer. The index of the critical surface tension of heptane—oil mixtures was used as the criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the polyfluoroalkyl acrylates in reducing the wettability of the fibre. The most effective modifier among the new polyfluoroalkyl acrylates was selected based on the results of the studies — polyperfluorodecyl acrylate.