Synthesis of Self-crosslinking Fluorinated Polyacrylate Soap-free Latex and Its Waterproofing Application on Cotton Fabrics

Fluorinated polyacrylate latexes are preferably candidates for the textile water repellent finishes as a result of their special surface property and especially economical, low-toxic characteristics compared to fluorinated polyacrylate solutions. The benefits of soap-free latex prepared from reactive surfactants are now well known. We herein used a reactive emulsifier, ammonium allyloxtmethylate nonylphenol ethoxylates sulfate (DNS-86), to prepare novel self-crosslinking fluorine-containing polyacrylate soap-free latex (FMBN) with core-shell structure by co-polymerization of dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (DFMA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), and N-methylolamide (NMA), and then treated the cotton fabric with FMBN. Results showed that the as-prepared latex particles had the uniform spherical core-shell structure with an average diameter of 116 nm. FMBN could form a smooth resin film on the treated fabric/fiber surface under Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) observation, but some protuberances appeared on that surface from Atomic force microscopy (AFM) image. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated the fluoroalkyl groups tended to enrich at the film-air interface. Hydrophobicity of the FMBN treated fabric was superior to that of the fabrics treated by general emulsion and the non-crosslinking one. In addition, the above three latexes didn't influence whiteness of the treated fabrics at all. However, they all, and in especial two self-crosslinking latexes would make the treated fabrics stiffer compared to non-crosslinking one.