Fluorination mechanisms of silicone rubbers and surface properties

Silicone rubber (SIR) has multiple formulations and is normally categorized as room temperature vulcanized (RTV), high temperature vulcanized (HTV) and liquid SIRs. This report presents surface physicochemical characteristics after the several types of SIR are fluorinated by the F 2 /N 2 mixture gas, based on ATR-IR analysis and SEM imaging. This report demonstrates a close association between change in surface wettability and material formulation, and a change in surface electrical conduction after direct fluorination, on the basis of measurements on water contact angle and surface potential decay, respectively. This report makes a brief discussion on the inconsistent changes in surface wettability between the SIRs, although fluorine atoms are introduced into the surface layer dominantly by replacing hydrogen atoms in methyl groups, forming a fluorinated layer with a roughed surface, for all of them.