This data article includes emulsion stability comparison of cationic fluorosurfactant (CFS) against conventional surfactants. Span 80, Hypermer, Tween 80 and CTAB were used as conventional emulsifiers and only after 30 minutes bilayer phase separation observed in emulsions prepared by Tween 80 while CTAB failed to give fluoroemulsion, as compared to the CFS stabilized fluoro-HIPE which demonstrated superb stabilization of more than 72 h without phase separation. Thermal stability of Poly(hexafluorobutyl acrylate)-Divinyl benzene (PHFBA-DVB) was compared with porous polymer prepared by the same concentration of CFS 9 wt% by using trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) as monomer phase. Results of PFP prepared with HFBA showed remarkable stability performance at more than 340.69 °C while porous polymer synthesized by TFEMA started to decompose even at 237.36 °C. The main findings based on the data presented here are reported in the paper “A cationicfluorosurfactant for fabrication of high-performance fluoropolymer foams with controllable morphology” (Azhar et al., 2017) [1].

In this study, four environmentally friendly succinic acid double-tailed sulfonate fluorinated surfactants were synthesized from maleic anhydride, fluoroalkyl alcohols, namely 1-(1H,1H,7H-Dodecafluoroheptyloxy) ethanol, 1-(1H,1H,5H -octafluoropentyloxy) ethanol, 1-(1H,1H,3H-tetrafluoropropoxy) ethanol, and 1-(1H,1H -trifluoroethyoxy) ethanol, and sodium hydrogensulfite. The surfactant structure was characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 19F NMR . Thermogravimetric results showed that the fluorinated surfactants were stable up to relatively high temperature. The Krafft points of the four novel succinic acid double-tailed sulfonate fluorinated surfactants were all below 0 °C. The lowest CMC value for the synthesized four double-tailed fluorine surfactants is about 0.076 mmol L−1, far less than that of ammonium perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), demonstrating that double-tailed surfactants have higher surface activity than surfactants with one fluoroalkyl chain. The replacement of alkyl groups with oxyethylene groups enhances the hydrophilicity of the obtained fluorinated surfactants. Based on these findings, the synthesized surfactants may be environmentally friendly alternatives to PFOA and exhibit promising potential in industry applications.

•A fluorinated diblock copolymer of MMA and TFEMA was prepared by RAFT polymerization.•The diblock copolymer was characterized with a narrow MWD and its structure is a confirmation to the design.•The surface of the self-assembly microspheres of P(MMA-b-TFEMA) become structured when heated up close to its Tg.•The surface property of block copolymer is closed to PTFEMA and better than the random copolymer.•The optical property and thermal property are also closed to PTFEMA and much better than PMMA.A fluorinated diblock copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) was prepared by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in the presence of cumyl dithiobenzoate (CDB) as the chain transfer agent (CTA). 1H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography and different scanning calorimetry were used to characterize the block copolymers obtained. Contact angle measurement indicated that the diblock copolymer has considerable hydrophobicity (θwater = 104.3°) and lipophobicity (θoil = 80.0°). The results are almost the same as those for PTFEMA and superior to those for a random copolymer of MMA and TFEMA. It was also found that P(MMA-b-TFEMA) has high thermostability. The self-assembly behaviour of the copolymer in selective solvents was evaluated by SEM, and stable micelles with a diameter of 400–600 nm were observed when the copolymer content was approximately 0.2 wt.%. Comparison studies with P(MMA-b-TFEMA), PTFEMA and PMMA revealed that the copolymer with a controllable distribution of fluorine atoms possesses a good performance.A fluorinated diblock copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) was prepared by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Its structure was well characterized and exhibited excellent performance than PMMA and random copolymer of MMA and TFEMA.

A fluorinated monomer of 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (FEMA) was prepared by a “one pot” process and then a novel fluorinated methacrylate polymer, poly[2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)ethyl methacrylate] (PFEMA), was successfully synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as emulsifier, hexadecane (HD) as co-stabilizer and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. The chemical structure of PFEMA was characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and 19F NMR. GPC results show that the number average molecular weight (Mn) of PFEMA was as high as 8.5 × 105 g/mol and the polydispersity index (PDI) was only 1.3. SEM and DLS characterizations showed that the morphology of PFEMA latex was uniform spheres with the diameter of about 110–125 nm. It was also found that PFEMA has high thermo-stability (Td > 200 °C), low glass transition temperature (Tg = 13.0 °C), and nice hydrophobicity (θwater = 99.9°). Comparison studies on PFEMA and poly(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) show that an introduced functional group (–CH2CH2O–) has a significant effect on lowering Tg and improving hydrolysis resistance without impairing surface properties.Graphical abstract2-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (FMA) was synthesized using a “one pot” process. Novel and stable poly[2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)ethyl methacrylate] (PFEMA) latex was successfully prepared by miniemulsion polymerization.Highlights► 2-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethoxy)ethyl methacrylate was synthesized. ► Its polymer latex was prepared by miniemulsion polymerization. ► The structures of the fluorinated monomer and its polymer were characterized. ► The properties of the polymer were also studied.

•A cationic fluorosurfactant was used as stabilizer for preparation of fluoro high internal phase emulsion (HIPE).•Highly porous, flexible and thermally stable foams were prepared from the resulting HIPE.•Sizes of the pores were controlled by simply varying the amount of cationic fluorosurfactant.•Resulting foams were used to adsorb organic oils from surface of the water.High internal phase emulsion (HIPE) technique has been of great interest for fabrication of polymer foams with controlled porous structures. However, for fluoropolymers, it has been a challenge to fabricate high-performance foams with controllable porous structures by HIPE due to the lack of suitable surfactant. Here, for the first time, a new type of cationic fluorosurfactant (CFS) is proposed to address this issue. The cationic fluorosurfactant is a diblock copolymer, Poly(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-b-Poly(hexafluorobutyl acrylate) (PDMAEMA-b-PHFBA) synthesized by reversible addition − fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. For the prepared fluoro-diblock copolymer having similar fluorosegments to fluoro-monomer, this cationic fluorosurfactant can effectively stabilize high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) system involving hexafluorobutyl acrylate monomer as oil phase, water as internal phase, DVB as cross linker and AIBN as an initiator. Polymerization of the HIPE system finally gave rise to novel flexible fluoropolymer foam, Poly(HFBA-DVB) with a porous morphology which can be tuned simply by the amount of the fluorosurfactant. As a high-performance porous material, the fluoropolymer foam demonstrated not only significant capacities and fast adsorption kinetic for separating various organic oils from water, but also has an excellent thermal stability up to 340 °C, indicating significant applications at extreme conditions.Download high-res image (374KB)Download full-size image