Effect of Crystallinity on Surface Morphology and Light Transmittance of Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Thin Film

Homopolymer of vinylidene fluoride and its copolymers containing hexafluoropropylene (HFP) were prepared from free radical solution polymerizations and spin-coated on the glass slides to fabricate thin film with a thickness of similar to 1 mu m. It was found that the surface morphology of fluorinated thin films was strongly dependent on the crystallinity of polymers, In addition, the surface morphology was the most important factor to determine the optical transmittance of glass coated with the fluoropolymer thin film. As decreasing the crystallinity of the polymer by introducing HFP with a bulky CF3 moiety, the surface of thin film became flattened and the transmittance of visible light was increased by reducing scattering. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 3331-3337, 2009