Preparation of Fluoroalkyl End-Capped Oligomers/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanocomposites Possessing No Weight Loss Behavior in Nanocomposites Even after Calcination at 800°C

Abstract

Fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomer [RF-(ACA)n-RF]/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanocomposites [RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN] were prepared by reaction of the corresponding oligomer with h-BN nanoparticles (mean diameter: 50 nm) under non-catalytic or alkaline conditions, respectively. Fluoroalkyl end-capped N,N-dimethylacrylamide oligomer/h-BN nanocomposites [RF-(DMAA)n-RF/h-BN] were also obtained under similar conditions. It was demonstrated that RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites, which were prepared under alkaline conditions, afforded a clear weight loss in proportion to the contents of the oligomer in the composites after calcination at 800°C; however, the non-catalytic conditions enabled the RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposite to give no weight loss behavior corresponding to the contents of the oligomer even after calcination. In fact, it was demonstrated that the RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites possessing a clear weight loss property could afford the fluorescent peak around 370 nm related to h-BN in the composites; however, the same fluorescent intensity of this nanocomposite after calcination at 800°C as that of the original h-BN was observed, indicating that this nanocomposite could give a clear weigh loss behavior corresponding to the content of the oligomer during the calcination process. In contrast, the RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites possessing no weigh loss behavior were found to exhibit the similar fluorescent intensity before and even after calcination at 800°C, suggesting that the corresponding nanocomposites could provide no weight loss ability corresponding to the contents of the oligomer in the composites even after calcination. Similarly, RF-(DMAA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites, which were prepared under non-catalytic or alkaline conditions, were found to provide no weight loss corresponding to the contents of the oligomer even after calcination, respectively. These fluorinated h-BN nanocomposites were applied to the surface modification of PMMA [poly(methyl methacrylate)] to exhibit an oleophobic property on the modified PMMA surface. RF-(ACA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites possessing a clear weight loss behavior, whose composites were calcinated at 800°C, afforded not oleophobic but oleophilic property on the modified PMMA surface, quite similar to that of the pristine PMMA film surface; however, more interestingly, we found that RF-(ACA)n-RF/ and RF-(DMAA)n-RF/h-BN nanocomposites possessing no weight loss characteristic, whose composites were calcined at 800°C, could supply a good oleophobic property related to the fluoroalkyl segments in the composites on the modified PMMA surfaces, respectively.