We have recently shown that low surface energy polymeric films can be readily obtained from partially fluorinated hydroxyl-end-capped solventless liquid oligoesters by thermal curing [1]. Photocurable liquid oligoesters can be prepared by further substituting the remaining hydroxyl end groups with acrylic double bonds. A conventional photoinitiator containing 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropiophenone was used to cure the liquid oligoesters. As the fluorine content increases from 0 to about 1.57 wt %, the surface energy decreases by about 14 mN/m. The fluorine level in the outer few nanometers is significantly greater than that in the bulk, as revealed by XPS studies. The driving force for the surface segregation of fluorinated species comes from the large difference in surface energy between the oligoesters and their fluorinated counterparts.

No abstract

SABIC recently developed polycarbonate-polysiloxane (PC-siloxane) copolymer blends which offer unique combinations of chemical resistance and low temperature impact ductility compared to polycarbonate (PC) homo-polymers. These novel blends have additional excellent aesthetic properties at high polysiloxane levels in the blend, especially when compared to polycarbonate-polysiloxane copolymers with the same polysiloxane content [1,2]. In PC-siloxane copolymer blends, siloxane forms nano-domains and is dispersed in the PC matrix. As the siloxane nano-domain size and the dispersion have a significant influence on the material properties, it is critical to develop quantitative morphology characterization [3,4] of PC-siloxane copolymer blends to offer a complete understanding of the relationship between material structure and properties.

No abstract