| Fluoro-functional materials are widely used because of their superior omniphobic properties. These properties mean that those materials are not only hydrophobic but also oleophobic. Their low surface free energy make these properties outstanding and useful. For example, fluorous materials have many applications in developing self-cleaning materials and anti-fogging films, etc. In this article, a typical way was used to synthesize some novel asymmetric giant surfactants, and the self-assembly behaviors of them were investigated in the bulk. Atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and sequential "click" approach were chosen to design and synthesize FPOSS-PSn samples which are one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane cage with seven fluorinated alkyl chain and different molecular weights of polystyrene (PS). And their self-assembly behaviors in the bulk were found that they could form a lot of different ordered structures, such as lamellae, perforated layer, and cylinders. The general thing is that the functional groups on the POSS cages can affect the interaction parameters of different POSS cages with the PS chain. Then the POSS cages will separate from the PS domains to form a new phase. However, the FPOSS cages are likely to crystallize in the lamellae phase which will make further phase separation of the POSS cage from fluorous alkyl chain outside. These results will help us design and synthesize some interesting and useful self-assembling materials based on POSS-polymer with desired physical properties. |
