Synthesis and characterization of emulsifier-free core–shell fluorine-containing polyacrylate latex

Core–shell fluorine-containing polyacrylate latex particles with fluorine-containing polymer rich in shell were successfully prepared by emulsifier-free seeded emulsion polymerization of fluorine-containing acrylate and fluorine-free acrylate monomers in water with PMMA particles as seeds. The chemical composition and core–shell structure were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. TEM, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis indicated that the core–shell particles were uniform and possessed narrow size distributions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that a gradient concentration of fluorine excited in the structure of the core–shell fluorine-containing latex film from the film–air interface to the film–glass interface. In addition, compared with the latex film of core–shell fluorine-free polyacrylate prepared under the similar polymerization condition, the core–shell fluorine-containing latex film showed higher contact angle and thermal stability.