• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2013

Swelling and subsequent deformation of membranes by water wetting are regarded as a prime drawback of hydrophilic polyurethane breathable film. Fluoroalkylated surface was prepared by reacting the film with hexamethylene diisocyanate(HDI) and 2-perfluorohexyl ethanol. IR spectra and XPS results showed that the fluoroalkyl group was successfully introduced to the film surface with hexamethylene linkage. Water contact angle was increased from $68.7^{\circ}$ up to $144.2^{\circ}$ with the degree of fluoroalkylation. Decrease in water-vapor permeability was minimized even for the film of highest fluoroalkylation.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2007

This paper describes the preparation and characterization of two kinds of fluorinated polybenzimidazole (PBI)s which can be potentially used for phosphoric acid-doped, high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Two kinds of perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB)-containing monomers were prepared via following synthetic steps; after fluoroalkylation of methyl 3-(hydroxy) benzoate and methyl 4-(hydroxy) benzoate with 1,2-dibromotetrafluoroethane and subsequent Zn-mediated dehalogenation, these compounds were cyclodimerized at $200^{\circ}C$ affording the ester-terminated monomers containing PFCB ether groups. The synthesized intermediates and monomers were characterized using FT-IR, $^1H-NMR,\;^{19}F-NMR$, and mass spectroscopy. The fluorinated PBIs were then successfully prepared through the solution polycondensation of the monomers and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine in polyphosphoric acid. Compared with traditional PBI, the glass transition temperatures of the fluorinated PBIs were obtained at $262^{\circ}C\;and\;269^{\circ}C$ which are lower than that of PBI and their initial degradation temperatures were still high over $400^{\circ}C$ under nitrogen. The fluorinated PBIs showed higher d-spacing values and improved solubility in several organic solvents as well as phosphoric acid, which confirmed they could be good candidates for the high temperature fuel cell membranes.