Fabrication of UV/moisture dual curing coatings based on fluorinated polyoxetanes for anti-fouling applications

In this paper, a novel UV/moisture dual curing hybrid coating was designed. The hybrid coating is composed of two fluorinated polyoxetane resins: Pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) end-capped poly(3-trifluoroethoxymethyl-3-ethyloxetane) (P3F), which designed as U-P3F-1 and can be cured by UV irradiation and isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane (IPTS) end-capped P3F, which designed as S-P3F-2 and can be cured by moisture in ambiance. The structure of U-P3F-1 and S-P3F-2 was characterized by Fourier infrared transform spectroscopy (FI-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The optimal mixing ratio of the two resins in the hybrid coating was discussed. Moreover, the UV and moisture curing process, thermal properties and surface properties of the hybrid coatings were also studied. Results show that the dual-cured hybrid coating process a high conversion of double bonds and siloxane groups in the presence of UV irradiation and moisture. Besides, the surface energy of the hybrid coating is as low as 18.2 mN/m, showing excellent hydrophobicity and antifouling properties. The XPS results further reveal that the migration and orientation of the fluorine groups to the surface is a significant factor in the low surface energy. In addition, the hybrid coating also demonstrates excellent transparency, durability, and solvent resistance. This study shows that this hybrid coating, with its adjustable resin composition and energy-efficient curing procedure, represents a novel strategy for preparing antifouling coatings and has significant industrial application potential.