Synthesis and antibiofouling properties of crosslinkable copolymers grafted with fluorinated aromatic side chains

Abstract

To obtain highly effective antifouling coatings, a series of functional ternary copolymers grafted with short fluoroalkyl or perfluoropolyether modified fluorinated aromatic side chains and cross-linkable functional groups were prepared via radical polymerization. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the fluoropolymers. The surface properties of the fluoropolymer coatings on cotton fabric, aluminum plates and glass slides were studied. The results indicate that the fluoropolymers show good thermal stabilities (T_d > 303 °C), and the hydrophobicity of the fluoropolymer coatings was increased with the increase of fluorinated monomer content (water contact angle on cotton fabric was up to 144°). The antifouling characteristics were investigated by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus attachment studies. The fluoropolymers exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. Aureus. The fluoropolymers might be used as promising environmentally benign marine antifouling coating materials due to their high thermal stability, hydrophobicity and antifouling effect.