Abstract
Functional coatings for application on surfaces are of growing interest. Especially in the textile industry, durable water and oil repellent finishes are of special demand for implementation in the outdoor sector, but also as safety-protection clothes against oil or chemicals. Such oil and chemical repellent textiles can be achieved by coating surfaces with fluoropolymers. As many concerns exist regarding (per)fluorinated polymers due to their high persistence and accumulation capacity in the environment, a durable and resistant coating is essential also during the washing processes of textiles. Within the present study, different strategies are examined for a durable resistant cross-linking of a novel fluoropolymer on the surface of fibers. The monomer 2-((1,1,2-trifluoro-2-(perfluoropropoxy)ethyl)thio)ethyl acrylate, whose fluorinated side-chain is degradable by treatment with ozone, was used for this purpose. The polymers were synthesized via free radical polymerization in emulsion, and different amounts of cross-linking reagents were copolymerized. The final polymer dispersions were applied to cellulose fibers and the cross-linking was induced thermally or by irradiation with UV-light. In order to investigate the cross-linking efficiency, tensile elongation studies were carried out. In addition, multiple washing processes of the fibers were performed and the polymer loss during washing, as well as the effects on oil and water repellency were investigated. The cross-linking strategy paves the way to a durable fluoropolymer-based functional coating and the polymers are expected to provide a promising and sustainable alternative to functional coatings.
Highlights
In recent years, functional surfaces have been of growing importance within research strategies leading to more functional and sustainable materials
Fluorine-containing polymers were designed for use in space missions precisely as a result of their exceptional properties, but they were able to revolutionize the market for functional textiles at an early stage
A highly fluorinated and ozone-degradable polymer for application on cellulose fibers for an oil- and water-repellency will be synthesized according to previously described protocols [32]
Summary
Functional surfaces have been of growing importance within research strategies leading to more functional and sustainable materials. Fluorine-containing polymers were designed for use in space missions precisely as a result of their exceptional properties, but they were able to revolutionize the market for functional textiles at an early stage Due to their extremely low surface energies, fluoropolymers are suitable both for water repellency and oil repellency [31,32]. Using repeated washing steps, the mechanical integrity of the polymeric fiber coatings is investigated Based on these studies, a feasible and effective cross-linking strategy for the preparation of durable oil- and water-repellent coatings based on fluoropolymers will be investigated, paving the way to a more environmentally friendly fluorine-containing polymer coating in the textile industry. Polyamide textile for SEM measurements were donated from TransTextile (Freilassing, Germany)
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