Solution self-assembly of fluorinated polymers, an overview

Abstract

Fluoropolymers constitute an attractive family of polymer materials with remarkable properties such as high resistance to chemicals, UV and heat, ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity for semi-crystalline polymers, to name a few. The incorporation of fluorinated moieties in a polymer can confer unique properties. Due to the fluorine atom's high electronegativity and the peculiar interactions of the fluorinated group, such polymers readily self-assemble in solution and often lead to original morphologies endowed with rare properties. Thanks to advances made in organic and polymer chemistry, a large variety of fluorinated monomers and polymers have been used to design fluorinated copolymer architectures. This review gives an overview of the current state of the art of the solution self-assembly of these fluorinated copolymer architectures.