Poly(fluoroalkyl methacrylates) from trifluoroethene: synthesis & properties

This work combines two technologically important areas of polymer science, namely polymer blends and fluoropolymers. New fluoroalkyl methacrylate polymers have been synthesised making use of the telomerisation of trifluoroethylene, to give a partially fluorinated sidechain on a methacrylate backbone. After characterisation, these materials were mixed with poly(methyl methacrylate), and the bulk phase behaviour and surface properties of these blends was investigated. Using differential scanning calorimetry and small angle neutron scattering, it has been established that these materials are in a state of incipient phase separation. Surface energetics of films of these blends have been investigated using contact angle measurements, and the near surface depth profile has been studied using neutron reflectivity and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry