Hydrophobic and Durable Adhesive Coatings Fabricated from Fluorinated Glycidyl Copolymers Grafted on SiO2 Nanoparticles

To obtain durable adhesive, highly hydrophobic, and thermostable coatings, novel fluorinated glycidyl copolymers grafted on SiO 2 nanoparticles were prepared by SiO 2 –Br initiating covalent adhesion of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and low surface free energy of dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (12FMA) via surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. In tetrahydrofuran solution, the obtained random-structured SiO 2 - g -(PGMA- co -P12FMA) behaves with 120 ± 10 nm core–shell morphology as SiO 2 -core (110 ± 10 nm) and (PGMA- co -P12FMA) shell (8 ± 2 nm). The films cast by these core–shell particles reveal stronger hydrophobic surfaces (SAC = 114–119°), higher resistance to water absorption (Δ m = 2478 ng·Hz –1 ·cm –2 ), and harder viscoelasticity (Δ D /Δ f = −0.379) compared to the SiO 2 - g -PGMA film (SAC = 90°, Δ m = 6153.7 ng·Hz –1 ·cm –2, and Δ D /Δ f = −0.271) due to the accumulated fluorine-rich surface and increased surface roughness. The introduction of antiaging P12FMA obviously improves the durability of adhesive strength of SiO 2 - g -(PGMA- co -P12FMA) (1.82 MPa) compared with that of SiO 2 - g -PGMA (decreased from 1.92 to 1.56 MPa) during the humidity thermal aging cycles. Meanwhile, SiO 2 - g -(PGMA- co -P12FMA) displays thermostability higher than that of both SiO 2 –PGMA and PGMA- co -P12FMA, attributed to the contribution of SiO 2 and P12FMA. Therefore, it is believed that SiO 2 - g -(PGMA- co -P12FMA) could be an excellent potential candidate for highly hydrophobic and durable adhesive coatings.