Block Copolymer Coating for Low-Fluorine Liquid Repellency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing materials used for liquid repellency, such as PFAS, are being regulated due to environmental and health concerns, and there is a need for alternatives that maintain high liquid repellency while improving coatability and adhesion to base materials.
Innovation Solution
A block copolymer with specific structural units, including a block formed by structural units represented by formula (1), is used, where the abundance ratio of these units is 0.05 to 0.7 molar ratio, combined with a (meth)acrylic acid ester block, and a solvent, to form a composition that is coated on base materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fluorine-containing compounds are used to achieve high liquid repellency, then liquid repellent performance is improved, but environmental impact increases and coatability/adhesion deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by replacing fluorine-containing compounds with hydrogenated amine compounds having specific molecular weight ranges (150-500 for the amine, 500-2000 for the carboxylic acid). This parameter substitution maintains liquid repellent performance while eliminating the environmental harm associated with fluorine compounds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs readily available, biodegradable natural compounds (hydrogenated amines from plant/animal sources and carboxylic acids) instead of persistent fluorine-containing compounds. These natural compounds provide the required functionality without long-term environmental persistence, effectively replacing harmful materials with benign alternatives.
2Reliability
If fluorine-containing compounds are used to achieve high liquid repellency, then liquid repellent performance is improved, but coatability and adhesion to base materials deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite coating system by combining hydrogenated amine compounds with carboxylic acids. This composite approach allows the amine to provide liquid repellency while the carboxylic acid component enhances adhesion to base materials through its ability to form bonds with various substrates, thus resolving the coatability issue.
Solution Approach 2:
The carboxylic acid acts as an intermediary substance that bridges the hydrogenated amine (providing liquid repellency) and the base material (requiring adhesion). The carboxylic acid's chemical properties enable it to interact with both the amine compound and the substrate, facilitating proper coating and bonding without compromising liquid repellent performance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If materials with reduced fluorine content are used to lower environmental impact, then environmental compatibility is improved, but liquid repellent performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes specific parameters of the hydrogenated amine compounds, including molecular weight (150-500) and hydrogen-to-carbon ratio (0.15-0.40), to achieve the desired balance. By carefully controlling these parameters, the coating maintains high liquid repellent performance (contact angle ≥90°) while being environmentally benign and free from fluorine content.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a material with low environmental impact that excels in coatability, adhesion, and high liquid repellency, while minimizing fluorine content.
Implementation Method 1
packing (crystallinity) of a long-chain alkyl contributes to liquid repellent performance
Implementation Method 2
a polymer disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been reported as a material with a lower environmental impact
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
Provided is a feature capable of improving coating properties and adhesion to objects to be coated such as base substrates while having high water repellency, using a material that either does not contain fluorine therein or has excluded as much fluorine as possible. The present invention is a block copolymer, one of the blocks comprising structural units containing a structural unit represented by formula (1), and the presence ratio of the structural units constituting this block is a molar ratio of 0.05 to 0.7 with respect to the structural units constituting the entire block copolymer. (In the formula, X1 is -O- or -NH-, R1 is an alkylene or phenylene with 2 to 12 carbon atoms, Y1 is -NHCOO- or -NHCONH-, R2 is a linear, branched, or cyclic hydrocarbon group with 6 to 30 carbon atoms, and the hydrocarbon group may include -O- or an unsaturated bond. The hydrogen on a carbon two or more positions away from Y1 may be replaced with fluorine in this hydrocarbon group. R3 is hydrogen or methyl.)