Low Surface Energy Properties of Smectic Fluorinated Block Copolymer/SEBS Blends.

A smectic polystyrene-poly(perfluorooctylethyl acrylate) block copolymer was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization and blended with a thermoplastic elastomer SEBS in different compositions. The mesophase structure and transition temperatures were investigated by DSC and WAXD. Thin films of the block copolymer and the blends exhibited large contact angles with both water and n-hexadecane, which resulted in low solid surface tensions. XPS findings at different photoemission angles confirmed the effective surface segregation of the mesogenic chains of the fluorinated polymer block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]