Antifouling Surfaces Based on Fluorine-Containing Asymmetric Polymer Brushes: Effect of Chain Length of Fluorinated Side Chain

The influence of chain length of a fluorinated side chain of an asymmetric polymer brush with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains on the antifouling property was systematically investigated so as to obtain more knowledge for deepening our understanding of the structure–(antifouling)–property relationship of asymmetric polymer brush. A series of asymmetric polymer brushes, consisting of hydrophobic poly(pentafluoropropyl methacrylate) (PPTFMA) side chains with the number of repeat units of pentafluoropropyl methacrylate (PTFMA) ranging from 8 to 42 and hydrophilic PEG side chains, was first synthesized by sequential reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Subsequently, thin films were prepared by spin-casting the solution of these brushes onto indium tin oxide (ITO) and SiO2 substrates. Water contact angle analysis showed that the hydrophobicity of the film surface increased with the length of PPTFMA side chain. The atomic ...