Chapter 5: Fluorinated Specialty Chemicals – Fluorinated Copolymers for Paints and Perfluoropolyethers for Coatings

Fluorinated functional materials have been used in a wide range of coating applications for mainly two purposes: protection and surface modification. The chemical stability of fluoropolymers confers protection on the inner structures for a long period of time from a variety of environmental attacks, such as sunshine, moisture and salt. As a surface modifier, fluorinated materials can provide various characteristics, such as excellent water and oil repellency and antifouling properties, to the substrate surface. In this chapter, two types of fluorinated coating materials are described. One is a partially fluorinated polymer as a typical example used for the protection of internal structure and the other is a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) coating material with high performance with respect to lubricating and antifouling properties.