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Personal Care | Products |
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| Fluorosurfactant - Structure / Function |
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The
structure below illustrates a typical hydrocarbon surfactant, with
a hydrophobic/lipophilic tail and a hydrophilic/lipophobic head. Hydrocarbon
surfactants tend to orient and concentrate at condensed phase interfaces,
i.e. liquid/liquid, liquid/solid. Typical hydrocarbon surfactants
cannot function as wetting/leveling agents in organic, high solids,
non-aqueous or other oily phase systems, given the nature of their
lipophilic tail.
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Hydrocarbon Lipophilic/Hydrophobic
Tail |
Hydrophilic Head |
The structure below illustrates a typical fluorocarbon surfactant,
with the dashed lines representing carbon fluorine attachment (CF2).
In contrast to the hydrocarbon surfactant structure above, fluorocarbon
surfactants differ discretely but significantly. Instead of a hydrophobic/lipophilic
tail and a hydrophilic/lipophobic head, fluorocarbon surfactants posses
a fluoroalkyl hydrophobic/lipophobic tail and what should be characterized
as a solubilizing head. Where hydrocarbon surfactants tend to orient
and concentrate at condensed phase interfaces, fluorocarbon surfactants
concentrate at the liquid air interface.
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Fluorocarbon Lipophobic/Hydrophobic
Tail |
Solubilizing Head |
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The strong electronegativity of the fluoroalkyl chain drives fluorosurfactants
to the liquid air interface, resulting in dramatic reductions in surface
tension compared with hydrocarbon surfactants that concentrate at
condensed phases. Given the nature of the fluoroalkyl tail, fluorosurfactants
function well as wetting/leveling agents in organic, high solids,
non-aqueous or other oily phase systems, as well as in aqueous systems.
Fluorosurfactants differ by the fluoroalkyl chain distribution, and
more importantly by the solubilizing head.
The figure below illustrates differences in migration to and concentration
at interfaces between hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon surfactants. Similar
differences, albeit at a less pronounced scale, occur between fluorosurfactants
with differing solubilizing heads and/or with differing molecular
weights. Condensed phase partitioning and differences in diffusion
rates can lead to differences in fluorosurfactant performance, especially
in aged polymer systems.
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In the illustration above, fluorosurfactants concentrate at the liquid/air
interface, while hydrocarbon surfactants concentrate at the condensed
phase interfaces, liquid/liquid, liquid/solid.
The unique performance properties of MASURF Fluorosurfactants and
Polymers are attributed to the fundamental properties of fluorine
chemistry. Fluorine is the most abundant member of the halogen family
with ionic metal fluorides being the most common chemical forms of
fluorine found in nature, such as fluorspar (CaF2). The strong polarity
of the carbon-fluorine bond, makes it one of the strongest in nature.
This very strong, high energy bond contributes to the stability of
fluoroaliphatics. That stability confers a variety of unique properties
to fluorocarbons, such as:
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Unaffected by any normal chemical reagents. |
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Reacts with alkali metals only at very high temperatures. |
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Stable in air at high temperatures. |
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Non-flammable. |
The high ionization potential of fluorine and its low polarizability
leads to extremely weak inter- and intramolecular interactions, for
unique surfactant properties, and the extremely low surface energy
of fluoropolymer treated surfaces.
Masurf FS-Fluorosurfactants and Masurf FP-Fluoropolymers do not contain
PFOS/PFOA. Masurf FS and FP products are manufactured with telomerization
process fluoroaliphatic intermediates that do not contain, release
or have been shown to degrade to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)
or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). |
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