Fluorination of epoxy surfaces by a physical method

Abstract

To enhance the surface hydrophobicity of epoxy polymers, a simple physical method for the simultaneous surface fluorination during curing of epoxy resins was proposed and evaluated. Curing of epoxy resins against a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mold gave rise to fluorinated epoxy polymer surfaces due to the anchorage of PTFE molecules on the epoxy polymer surface. The modified epoxy surfaces were characterized using contact-angle measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The fluorinated epoxy resin surfaces are highly hydrophobic, exhibiting contact angles of similar magnitude to that of the pristine PTFE film surface. The PTFE mold can be used repeatedly to give fluorinated epoxy surfaces with large contact angles. Aging and solvent extraction tests indicated that the fluorinated epoxy surfaces were very stable.