Polymethylene-b-poly(styrene-co-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro styrene) copolymers: synthesis and fabrication of their porous films

Abstract

New block copolymers of polymethylene-b-poly(styrene-co-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro styrene) (PM-b-P(St-co-PFSt)) with controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution were synthesized via a combination of polyhomologation of ylides and ATRP copolymerization of styrene and 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro styrene. The molecular structure and component of PM-b-P(St-co-PFSt) block copolymers were characterized through ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, GPC and elemental analysis. The porous films of these block copolymers were fabricated via the static breath-figure (BF) method. The influence of solvent, molecular weight of copolymer, relative humidity and temperature on the morphology of these block copolymer films was investigated. The porous surfaces of these films presented hydrophobic behaviour with a static water-droplet contact angle of ca. 111°.