Grafting of cyanoethyl cellulose with fluorine-containing acrylates and characterization of the products

To improve the film moldability and the hygroscopicity of cyanoethyl cellulose (CEC), a prospective electronic material, it was grafted with three perfluoroalkyl acrylates. Properties of one of the grafted products (G-TEA) with 2.2,2-trifuluoroethyl acrylate (TEA) having a short perfluoroalkyl chain length were studied. G-TEA showed good solubility in several solvents, including DMSO and DMF. Although the thermal decomposition temperature of G-TEA was 20 degreesC below that of CEC, G -TEA exhibited melting behavior at approximately 250 degreesC. As a result, it was suggested that G-TEA can be molded into films by solvent casting and hot-pressing. The moisture content of G-TEA decreased along with the degree of graft-copolymerization. Thus, it was clear that CEC became hydrophobic by graft-copolymerization with TEA. Moreover, the surface of G-TEA was found to be covered mainly by the TEA component with negligible amounts of CEC.