Fluoropolymer Surfaces/Interfaces

Polymers with perfluoroalkyl (Rf) groups have surface characteristics that differ greatly from those of comparable hydrogenated structures, for example, excellent chemical and thermal stability, nonadhesive properties, low friction coefficients, low surface free energies, and antifouling behavior. Fluoropolymers with Rf groups have been extensively studied in various research fields and applied as very meaningful and valuable chemicals in industry. This chapter introduces the recent investigation relating to the surface molecular aggregation structure and surface molecular motion of the fluoro(co)polymers with Rf side group. Grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray diffraction (GI-WAXD) measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) using C60 ion beam were applied to the surface molecular aggregation structure analysis and the depth analysis of the fluoropolymer films, respectively. In situ neutron reflectivity (NR) measurement affords detail insights of the swelling state of semicrystalline CO2-philic fluoropolymer brushes in supercritical carbon dioxide.