Interfacial Response of Semifluorinated Multi-Block Copolymers

This chapter presents a new insight into the interfacial behavior of semifluorinated polymers and its origin as derived from molecular dynamics simulations of a model polymer that consists of semifluorinated multi-blocks of alternating protonated and fluorinated linear carbon chains of varying segment length while the total number of monomers remains constant. It revealed for the first time the effects of topology of the polymers and rigidity of the blocks on the interfacial characteristics of semifluorinated polymers. Examples of films formed by polymers with an identical number of carbons, whose topology is varied by varying the dimension of fluorinated and protonated segments, are shown in the chapter. The chapter probes a model system using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The interfacial characteristics of semifluorinated polymers are impacted not only by the degree of fluorination but also by the distribution of the fluorine along the polymer backbone.