Synthesis and Application of Fluorine-Containing Polymers with Low Surface Energy

Many modern technologies rely on materials with controlled surface properties. A key property in many of these applications is surface energy; specifically a low surface energy is often desired so as to impart low adhesive behavior to the materials. The fluorine–carbon bond displays low polarizability, and so fluorocarbons show high resistance to interactions with both polar and non-polar molecules. Thus the commodity fluoropolymers within the PFTE family have been used widely in applications where low adhesion and solvent resistance are important. For several decades scientists have included perfluorinated or partly-fluorinated segments into specialty polymers in attempts to achieve low fouling behavior, and modification of virtually every class of macromolecule has been explored. Notably, over the past several decades, advances in polymerization techniques, specifically controlled radical polymerization, have made possible the creation of polymers with highly-specific and unique structures, for example, block and well-defined network copolymers. Accordingly, this review discusses traditional partly-fluorinated materials but primarily focuses on recent progress in the design of partly-fluorinated polymeric materials with low surface energy. The objective of the review is to provide a concise summary of the approaches taken to date, and to demonstrate, though example, areas with high potential for innovation in the future.