LAUSR

Abstract Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a widely used polymer, but its surface properties are often not ideal for coating applications. Here, a wide range of surface and optical properties of PMMA were achieved by controlling the copolymer type, poly(trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PTFEMA)-X, where X is the feed ratio (mol %) of trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), where TFEMA includes hydrophobic –CF3 moiety. Four different PTFEMA-X samples (i.e. PTFEMA-5, -10, -20, and -40) were prepared by changing the monomer ratio between MMA and TFEMA. The surface energies, surface compositions, transmittances, and refractive indices of the samples were compared to those of PMMA and PTFEMA. The results showed a linear relationship between these properties and TFEMA content, demonstrating a potential method for controlling the surface and optical properties of PMMA. This is interesting as the only difference between MMA and TFEMA is that TFEMA has –CF3 moiety.