Author(s)

Jittraporn Saengkaew¹, Takahumi Ogasawara¹, Katsumi Yamashita¹, Suwadee Kongparakul², Hideo Sawada^1*

¹Department of Frontier Materials Chemistry, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan.
²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand.

Fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomer [R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F]/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanocomposites [R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN] were prepared by reaction of the corresponding oligomer with h-BN nanoparticles (mean diameter: 50 nm) under non-catalytic or alkaline conditions, respectively. Fluoroalkyl end-capped N,N-dimethylacrylamide oligomer/h-BN nanocomposites [R_F-(DMAA)_n-R_F/h-BN] were also obtained under similar conditions. It was demonstrated that R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites, which were prepared under alkaline conditions, afforded a clear weight loss in proportion to the contents of the oligomer in the composites after calcination at 800°C; however, the non-catalytic conditions enabled the R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposite to give no weight loss behavior corresponding to the contents of the oligomer even after calcination. In fact, it was demonstrated that the R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites possessing a clear weight loss property could afford the fluorescent peak around 370 nm related to h-BN in the composites; however, the same fluorescent intensity of this nanocomposite after calcination at 800°C as that of the original h-BN was observed, indicating that this nanocomposite could give a clear weigh loss behavior corresponding to the content of the oligomer during the calcination process. In contrast, the R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites possessing no weigh loss behavior were found to exhibit the similar fluorescent intensity before and even after calcination at 800°C, suggesting that the corresponding nanocomposites could provide no weight loss ability corresponding to the contents of the oligomer in the composites even after calcination. Similarly, R_F-(DMAA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites, which were prepared under non-catalytic or alkaline conditions, were found to provide no weight loss corresponding to the contents of the oligomer even after calcination, respectively. These fluorinated h-BN nanocomposites were applied to the surface modification of PMMA [poly(methyl methacrylate)] to exhibit an oleophobic property on the modified PMMA surface. R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites possessing a clear weight loss behavior, whose composites were calcinated at 800°C, afforded not oleophobic but oleophilic property on the modified PMMA surface, quite similar to that of the pristine PMMA film surface; however, more interestingly, we found that R_F-(ACA)_n-R_F/ and R_F-(DMAA)_n-R_F/h-BN nanocomposites possessing no weight loss characteristic, whose composites were calcined at 800°C, could supply a good oleophobic property related to the fluoroalkyl segments in the composites on the modified PMMA surfaces, respectively.

Fluorinated Oligomer, Hexagonal Boron Nitride, Nanocomposite, Thermal Stability, No Weight Loss, Calcination, Surface Modification, Oleophobicity, Fluorecence Spectra, PMMA

Saengkaew, J. , Ogasawara, T. , Yamashita, K. , Kongparakul, S. and Sawada, H. (2019) Preparation of Fluoroalkyl End-Capped Oligomers/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanocomposites Possessing No Weight Loss Behavior in Nanocomposites Even after Calcination at 800°C. Open Journal of Composite Materials, 9, 72-98. doi: 10.4236/ojcm.2019.92004.