Surface Microphase Separation and Water-Induced Reconstruction of Fluorinated Amphiphilic Copolymer Coatings for Soil Release Fabrics

With the excessive use of laundry detergents, surfactants from laundry wastewater pose a significant threat to ecological sustainability. Increased attention has been paid to fluorinated amphiphilic copolymers (FACs) that can impart fabrics with water/oil repellency and soil release properties that reduce detergent usage. Depending on their application, FACs are distinguished by surface microphase separations and water-induced surface reconstructions. In this study, a miniemulsion polymerization method was successfully used to synthesize five different hydrophobic–hydrophilic ratio polymer emulsions. An investigation of FACs coating the surface microphase separation and water-induced surface reconstruction was conducted. Hydrophobic–hydrophilic interactions between side chains with significant differences were systematically explained as well. Fluorine-containing components dominate the hydrophobic–hydrophilic interactions, creating highly active molecular chains and water-driven surface reconstruction capabilities. Conversely, in copolymers where hydrophilicity dominates, side chains are significantly separated microscopically, and molecular chains are not mobile. Thus, surface reconstruction is relatively poor under the same conditions. As long as the hydrophobic–hydrophilic ratio is close to equal, two surface phenomena are capable of currents between the two aforementioned scenarios. Further confirmation of the correlation between the application performance of coated fabrics and surface phenomena of films can be obtained from the application tests of fabrics coated with FACs. F75 (the mass content of fluorinated acrylate 13FMA is 75%), whose film has a relatively low surface free energy (γs = 9.18 mN/m) and the best water-induced surface reconstruction ability (Δγs = 1.61 mN/m), can be the optimal choice for the soil release finishing agent (initial soil release rating = 4). FACs on soil release fabric finishes are developed and applied based on this study, which provides theoretical guidance for their development and application.