Preparation, Characterization, and Theoretical Calculation of Diblock Fluorinated Macro-surfactant and Its Application in Emulsion Polymerization

Over recent decades, the demand for packaging materials has grown exponentially, posing significant challenges to environmental protection and sustainable development. To address this issue, we developed a novel fluorinated surfactant, characterizing its structure and calculating its solubility parameter (19.57 (J/cm3)1,2) via theoretical simulations. This surfactant was then employed to formulate a high-performance emulsion suitable for a paper coating. Remarkably, a coating weight of only 7 g/m2 conferred excellent resistance properties, providing resistance to 95 °C water, 25 °C olive oil, and 100 °C olive oil for approximately 1 h. Furthermore, we evaluated the recyclability of the coated paper. Our results demonstrate a high paper recovery rate of over 85%, far exceeding the industry average value of 54%. The recycled paper also retained a robust tensile strength of 11.4 kN/m. We propose that this innovative fluorinated emulsion holds great promise for the food packaging sector, offering a pathway to significantly reduce the carbon emission and achieve sustainable development goals.