To obtain durable
adhesive, highly hydrophobic, and thermostable
coatings, novel fluorinated glycidyl copolymers grafted on SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by SiO2–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 SiO2-g-(PGMA-co-P12FMA) behaves with 120 ± 10 nm
core–shell morphology as SiO2-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 (Δm = 2478 ng·Hz–1·cm–2), and harder viscoelasticity (ΔD/Δf = −0.379) compared to
the SiO2-g-PGMA film (SAC = 90°,
Δm = 6153.7 ng·Hz–1·cm–2, and ΔD/Δf = −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 SiO2-g-(PGMA-co-P12FMA) (1.82
MPa) compared with that of SiO2-g-PGMA
(decreased from 1.92 to 1.56 MPa) during the humidity thermal aging
cycles. Meanwhile, SiO2-g-(PGMA-co-P12FMA) displays thermostability higher than that of
both SiO2–PGMA and PGMA-co-P12FMA,
attributed to the contribution of SiO2 and P12FMA. Therefore,
it is believed that SiO2-g-(PGMA-co-P12FMA) could be an excellent potential candidate for
highly hydrophobic and durable adhesive coatings.