The functionalization of fluoroelastomers: approaches, properties, and applications

This review seeks to give an overview of different approaches to prepare functional fluoroelastomers for modern industries. These approaches can be divided into three main families of alternatives. The first extensively describes the preparation of telechelic fluoroelastomers based on chemical degradation. Carboxyl-terminated fluoroelastomers are usually achieved via a typical degradation process, which then can be changed into various functional group-terminated fluoroelastomers. The second deals with functionalization of fluoroelastomers through grafting reactions. Conventional strategies, such as radical polymerization, dehydrofluorination and sulfonation, are used to graft single or faintness functional monomers onto fluoroelastomers. Reversible deactivation radical polymerization, however, provides quantitative copolymers containing unique functional groups. The third alternative route, namely functionalized copolymerization, concerns two main types: functionalization of an initiator and functionalization of monomers. In several cases, both will be utilized to synthesize special functional fluoroelastomers. In addition to the three approaches, the properties and applications of processed fluoroelastomers are illustrated to explore their functions and influences after functionalization.