Fluorinated hyperbranched polyester acrylate used as an additive for UV curing coatings

The fluorinated hyperbranched polyester acrylate (FHPA) was synthesized by modifying the hyperbranched polyester Boltorn H20 with fluorinated isocyanate, and characterized with 1H NMR and FTIR spectroscopic analysis. The water and oil wettability of the UV cured film with FHPA as an additive was investigated by measuring the contact angle. The results showed that an extremely low concentration of FHPA, even below 0.1 wt%, resulted in efficient decrement of the surface tension of UV cured film to 10–15 mN/m, and thus makes the film highly hydrophobic and oleophobic. The film with FHPA addition was stable in acidic and neutral solutions, and still had good water repellency after immersion in a pH 1 solution for several days. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the film surface was enriched with fluorinated species. Moreover, the molecule with the highest average number of perfluoroalkyl groups had the highest tendency to aggregate at the surface of the UV cured film.