Synthesis and properties of novel triazine-based fluorinated chain extender modified waterborne polyurethane hydrophobic films

Abstract A novel triazine-based fluorinated diol, CC-F, was synthesized from cyanuric chloride (CC), octafluoropentanol (OFP), and ethanolamine (MEA). Subsequently, a series of fluorinated waterborne polyurethanes (CC-FPUF-n, n expressed as mass percentages of CC-F in product formula) were synthesized using CC-F as the chain extender. The chemical structure of the product was verified using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques. The influence of the CC-F contents on the properties of the latex particles, surface properties, thermal stabilities, and mechanical properties of CC-FPUF films was determined using the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle (WCA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Mechanical tests were also conducted for the same. The results revealed that the hydrophobic and mechanical properties of the CC-FPUF films were improved. Water contact angle and tensile strength values of the CC-FPUF-8 film were 125.8° and 36.63 MPa, respectively, which were, respectively, 34.1° and 24.47 MPa higher than those of the CC-FPUF-0 film. Thus, the embedding of CC-F into polyurethane molecules could significantly improve the hydrophobic and mechanical properties of the waterborne polyurethane films. Therefore, these novel fluorinated waterborne polyurethanes can be potentially used for hydrophobic coatings in the future.