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Fluorine-silicon PUA films boost electronic packaging
Researchers have developed fluorine-silicon integrated polyurethane acrylate films for electronic packaging applications. Using UV curing technology, the modified films exhibit substantially improved hydrophobicity, thermal stability and dielectric performance while maintaining transparency.
Conventional polyurethane acrylate (PUA) materials used in electronic packaging often suffer from limited hydrophobicity, insufficient dielectric performance and inadequate thermal stability. To address these shortcomings, researchers synthesised α-trimethylsilylmethyl-ω-dihydroxyalkyl-terminated polymethyltrifluoropropylsiloxane oligomers (TMPME-PMTFPS) with varying molecular weights ranging from 2,038 to 5,004 g/mol. These oligomers feature a flexible side-chain unit that integrates both fluorine and silicon atoms.
The functional segments were chemically grafted onto acrylate-terminated polyurethane, and a series of fluorine-silicon synergistically modified polyurethane acrylate (FSi-PUA) films was then prepared using efficient and environmentally friendly UV curing technology. The influence of molecular weight and TMPME-PMTFPS content on the overall film properties was systematically investigated.
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Surface enrichment enhances hydrophobicity
During curing, the fluorine-silicon segments spontaneously migrated and enriched at the film surface, considerably improving surface properties. Adding 10 wt% of TMPME-PMTFPS3 (5,004 g/mol) increased the water contact angle from 74.5° to 114.6°, while simultaneously reducing water absorption. In parallel, incorporation of 10 wt% TMPME-PMTFPS1 (2,038 g/mol) raised the soft-segment decomposition temperature to 416.2 °C, an increase of 34.2 °C compared with the unmodified reference (FPUA-0).
Lower dielectric constant with maintained transparency
Dielectric measurements demonstrated that at 14.2 GHz, the modified film achieved a dielectric constant as low as 2.77, representing a 1.77% reduction compared with FPUA-0. Optical transparency was preserved throughout the modification. By combining a fluorine-silicon integrated side-chain design with UV curing technology, the study offers an effective strategy for developing advanced electronic packaging materials that unite hydrophobicity, low dielectric constants, good heat resistance and tunable mechanical properties.
Source: Wu, X. et al., Fluorine-silicon integrated polyurethane films for advanced electronic packaging. Progress in Organic Coatings (2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2026.110217
