A SURFACE TREATING AGENT AND THE PROCESS THEREFOR

Abstract: Surface treating agents consisting of an organic titanium compound containing at least one fluoropolyether radical linked by carboxy groups to the titanium and at least one hydrolyzable group, said compounds being ob­ tained by reacting a fluoropolyether having one or more carboxylic groups with titanium compound having at least one group able to react with carboxylic group and at least one residual hydrolyzable group per titanium atom; said surface treating agents have not only superior surface activity and anti-corrosion properties for the metal sur­ face but are also chemically stable.

Description: This invention relates to a fluoropolyether surface treating agent, more particularly, to new surface treating agents obtained by reaction of a fluoropolyether having carboxylic acid groups with a titanium compound having at least one group able to react with the carboxylic group and at least one residual hydrolyzable group. The surface treating agents of the present invention are excellent as wetting and have anticorrosion properties on the surface of metals, resistance to chemicals and to fouling for these reasons they can be used in the fields in which perfluoropolyether oils have traditionally been used, such as vacuum pump oil, lubricating oil, sealing oil, mould releasing agent and damper liquid, either alone or as additive of perfluoropolyether oils, for improving their characteristics. There are known chemically stable and inert oil com­ pounds containing fluorine, for instance, polychlorotri­ fluoroethylene, perfluoropolyethers and perfluoroalkanes for the applications indicated above. However compounds containing chlorine are able to dechlorinate and corrode metal materials in the presence of water. See for example "Advanced Technology of Halogen Chemicals", page 124, C.M.C. Co. (1984). Fluorinated oils in particular perfluo­ ropolyethers not containing hydrogen and/or chlorine atoms are very excellent in stability to be commonly used in many applications. In general however the perfluoropolyethers do not show good anticorrosion properties as it is desidered in many applications. Perfluoropolyether oils do not show a sufficient value of surface activity for many purposes; see for example Shinku, vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 484-485 (1985) and "Chemistry and Industry of the Magnetic Body", p. 54, Techmart Co., (1978). Even by adding organic acids as surface active agents to perfluoropolyethers, for instance, penta-(per­ fluoropropylene oxide)- perfluoropropanoic acid, desorption of the surface treating agent takes place at 65°C, so that it is extremely difficult to improve the surface activity at higher temperatures than 65°C (Chemistry and Industry of the Magnetic Body, p. 39 cited above). In addition to this, said perfluoropolyethers, though excellent in their own chemical stability, when contain the additives mentioned above, have the disadvantage to corrode the metal surface. Particularly this must be absolutely avoided when the perfluoropolyethers are employed for ma­ gnetic media in which the magnetic substance itself is very fine metal powder. The present invention has the object of providing a new surface treating agent prepared by reacting a fluoro­ polyether having carboxylic acid groups with a titanium having at least one group able to react with the carboxylic group and at least one hydrolyzable group per titanium atom, which shows excellent surface adhesion and anti-­ corrosion properties for the surface of metal. This new compound can be used as such or as additives of perfluoropolyether oils. Applicant in order to achieve said object found that the product of reaction of a fluoropolyether having car­ boxylic groups with a titanium compound, in particular alkoxide or its derivatives, brings to a considerable change to the metal surface activity and overcome the di­ sadvantages of the products known in the art. Object of the invention is a new fluoropolyether sur­ face treating agent consisting of an organic titanium com­ pound having per Ti atom at least one radical (A) of fluo­ ropolyether linked by a carboxy group to the titanium and one or more hydrolyzable groups (B). In particular the hy­ drolyzable group is an alkoxy group preferably a radical of monovalent alcohol of 1 to 8 carbon atoms having a straight or branched chain which may be substituted, a radical cor­ responding to mono-valency of di-valent alcohol of 2 to 3 carbon atoms, a radical of β-di-ketones such as preferably acetylacetone and a radical of β-keto-ester, and the process for preparing said surface treating agents. The surface treating agent of the invention is an or­ ganic titanium compound which in monomer form is expressed by the following general formula: A a TiB (4-a) wherein A stands for said fluoropolyether carboxy radical and B stands for said hydrolizable group and a is an integer from 1 to 3 and preferably from 1 to 2; in polymer form contains in the molecule the linkage Ti-O-Ti corresponding to the general formula being -iO(iO) b i- in which b is an integer from 0 to 4 and the valences of the Ti are saturated by A and B and having per Ti atom at least one radical A and one radical B as defined above; the hydrolyzable radical B being such not to generate Hhal by hydrolysis, hal is Cl, Br. Object of the invention is also mixtures of the com­ pounds in monomer and in polymer form. The substitutent A is preferably a carboxy radical de­ rived from fluoropolyethers having one or more of the fol­ lowing repeating units represented by the general formula (C n F 2n O) wherein n ranges from 1 to 3 in the case of the perfluoroxyalkylene units. The oxyperfluoroalkylene chain can comprise, in parti­ cular, recurrent units of the following types: I) (CF₂CF₂O), (CF₂O), said units being randomly distri­ buted along the perfluoropolyether chain; II) , (CFXO), with X = F or CF₃, said units being randomly distributed along the perfluoropolyether chain; III) (CF₂CF₂O), , (CFXO), with X = F or CF₃, with said units being randomly distributed along the per­ fluoropolyether chain; IV) ; V) (CH₂CF₂CF₂O); VI) (CF₂CF₂CF₂O); VII) -(-CF₂-CF₂-CH₂O) p -R′ f -O-(CH₂CF₂-CF₂-O) q - wherein R′ f is a fluoroalkylene group, p and q are integers comprised within the range of from 0 to 200, and p+q is at least 2; VIII) wherein R″ f is a fluoroalkylene group, n′ is either 0 or 1, a′ and b′ are integers, and a′+b′ is at least 2; IX) (CF₂CF₂O), X) wherein R f equal or different is F or a perfluoroalkyl group; XI) (CF₂OCF₂CF₂O). The perfluoropolyether starting materials belonging to classes II, III, VI, IX and X can be functionalized, if ne­ cessary, to both of their ends, by applying, e.g., the scission process as disclosed in Italian patent application No. 22,920 A/85, which yields acidic end groups -COF, easi­ ly convertible to carboxylic group by using the teaching of the hereunder described patents. See, in particular, U.S. patents Nos. 3,810,874 and 3,847,978, and Italian Patent No. 903,446. As the fluoropolyether starting materials can be used products, which are widely known in the art and disclosed, in particular, in the following patent or patent applica­ tions: U.S. 3,242,218; U.S. 3,665,041; U.S. 3,715,378; EPO 148,482; EPO 151,877; U.S. 4,523,039; WO 87/00538, WO 87/02992. The carboxylic group can be linked to the fluoroalkyl­ enoxy unit through the bivalent radical -C p″ F 2p″ - wherein p″ is 1 or 2 and optionally through a further bridge radic­ al -(Z) p′ - in which p′ is 0 or 1 for instance -(CH₂-) t (t = 1-4), -CH₂OCH₂- -(CH₂CH₂O) t CH₂-, -CONHCH₂CH₂-. As already said the fluoropolyethers used as starting material in the invention can have one carboxylic group in the case of monofunctional fluoropolyether, the other ter­ minal group being a perfluoroalkoxy group having 1-3 C atoms. In the case of bifunctional compounds instead of the perfluoroalkoxy group there is a group -OC p″ F 2p″ -(Z) p′ -COOH. The average molecular weight of the carboxyfluoropoly­ ether radical A is comprised in general between 400 and 8000 and preferably between 700 and 4000. The radical B is a hydrolyzable group in the sense that by reaction with H₂O, the Ti-B bond forms a -Ti-OH and a BH compound. In particular B is an RO- group in which R is alkyl optionally substituted for example by -OH, -NH₂, alkenyl, or an enolate form of β-di-keto-compounds or of β-keto-­ esters. Group (B) in particular is selected from the group consisting of a radical of mono-valent alcohol shown by the group RO- (wherein R means alkyl group or alkenyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms having a straight or branched chain which may be substituted) for instance, CH₃O-, C₂H₅O-, i-­ C₃H₇O-, n- C₄H₉O-, C₈H₁₇O-, NH₂CH₂CH₂O-, CH₂=CH-CH₂O-; or a radical corresponding to mono-valency of the di-valent al­ cohol shown by the groups, (wherein R′ and R″ mean either the same or different (wherein Y means either a methyl group or an alkoxy group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms) for instance methyl acetoacetate, ethyl acetoacetate, propyl acetoacetate and butyl acetoacetate. Other hydrolyzable groups are of the type -NR₁R₂ wherein R₁ and R₂ have the same meaning of R indicated above. These hydrolyzable groups need not to be one alone but may be more than one. Organic titanium compounds having said substituents of the surface treating agent of the invention can be prepared by reacting a carboxylic fluoropolyether indicated above with a titanium compound B₄Ti which has said hy­ drolyzable groups. The reaction is carried out by adding under stirring an equivalent of 1 to 3 of the carboxlic group of fluoropo­ lyether (FPCA), preferably an equivalent of 1 to 2 per mol of Ti atom of the starting titanium compound, usually in an organic solvent for a period of 20 minutes to 4 hours at temperatures ranging from 10° to 80°C. In this reaction according to the selection of reaction conditions such as the type of the starting material and the solvent, the monomer alone of the organic titanium compound, or a mixture of the monomer with polymer, as indicated above, is synthetically prepared. Particularly in the system where an excess of FPCA is present, the esterification reaction with alcohol eliminated from FPCA and the starting titanium compound takes place as side reaction and water is formed as by-product, permitting the condensation polymerization by hydrolysis of the titanium compound which has not yet reacted, and an organic titanium compound polymer having the linkage -Ti-O-Ti- in the molecule is apt to be formed and corresponds to the general formula: -i-O-(TiO) b -i- wherein b ranges from 0 to 4. The starting titanium derivative can be easily prepar­ ed by subjecting a titanium alkoxide having 4 alkoxyl groups with at least one compound selected from divalent alcohol, acetylacetone and β-keto-ester either in the presence or in the absence of an organic solvent. The organic titanium compound having a hydrolyzable group other than the alkoxy group may be obtained by reacting FPCA with titanium alkoxide, followed by reaction of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of di-valent alcohol, acetylacetone and keto-ester in an amount corresponding to the alkoxy groups to be substituted. Preferably it is substituted only one alkoxide group. Further the organic titanium compound polymer having in the molecule the Ti-O-Ti linkage and FPCA radical and alkoxy group, as substitutent groups, can be selectively obtained by reacting with FPCA a polytitanoxane having in the molecule the Ti-O-Ti linkage and alkoxy group as the substituent group, which is prepared by submitting titanium alkoxide to the preliminary polycondensation. Still further the intended organic titanium compound polymer having a hydrolyzable group other than the alkoxy group can be selectively synthetized by reacting said polymer with at least one compound selected from the group consisting of di-valent alcohol, acetylacetone and β-keto-ester. The sur­ face treating agent of the invention can be applied to the surface of the substrate by coating the said organic tita­ nium compound alone or in an organic solvent and then dry­ ing. As substrate it can be mentioned iron, steel, copper and like metals. Also, magnetic powder, ceramic powder and ceramics moulded articles can be treated likewise. Furthermore the surface treating agent of this inven­ tion can be admixed with perfluoropolyether oils to reduce wear and prevent the corrosion of the surface of the metal or ceramics. The amount of the surface treating agent of this invention to be added to perfluoropolyether oil is generally 0.1 to 2.0 parts by weight of the organic titanium compound to 100 parts by weight of oil when applied to vacuum pump oil and lubricating oil, and generally 1 to 10 parts by weight of the organic titanium compound to 100 parts by weight of oil when applied on to a magnetic media, said amounts being enough to achieve the object of the invention. The surface treating agent of this invention is cha­ racterized in that it is a new organic titanium compound having, as already mentioned, both an unhydrolyzable FPCA radical and a hydrolyzable group. When this surface treating agent is applied onto the surface of a substrate, the adsorbed water or -OH group present on the surface of the substrate reacts with the hydrolyzable group of said organic titanium compound and hydrolyzes said organic titanium compound to form the M-O-Ti (M means the atom present on the surface of the substrate such as metal atom), causing at the same time the formation of the Ti-O-Ti linkage; all these linkages, it has been found unexpectedly, prevent the corrosion of the surface of the substrate while the FPCA radical layer is water and oil repellent. Accordingly the application of the surface treating agent of the present invention causes the formation on the surface of the substrate a coated film excellent in repellency to water and oil and resistance to corrosion. When the surface treating agent of this invention is used in mixture with polyperfluoroalkylenether oil, it has been found that the surface activity of the latter improves to a considerable degree lubrication and anti-corrosion properties. In order to obtain these effects the organic titanium compound must have at least one hydrolyzable group and at least one FPCA radicals for each Ti atom. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an Infra-red absorption spectrum of the surface treating agent and of the starting compounds: (a) Sample (T - 1) (b) Tetraisopropoxytitanium (c) Polyperfluoroalkylene ether carboxylic acid. (1) Synthetic Preparation of Organic Titanium Compound. (a) Sample (T-1). A four-necked flask of 300 cc in capacity, equipped with a stirrer, reflux condenser, thermometer and dropping device, was charged with 28.4 g (0.1 mol) of tetraisopropo­ xytitanium and 71.8 g of polyperfluoroalkylene ether car­ boxylic acid [F(C₃F₆O) 3.3 CF(CF₃)COOH] were added dropwise under stirring in 4 hours, cooling exteriorly so that the reaction solution might not be heated beyond 40°C. After the dropwise addition came to an end, the reac­ tion product was maintained under stirring for 2 hours at said temperature. The reaction solution so obtained was charged into a rotary evaporator and removed of the volatile matter for 4 hours at a bath temperature of 45°C and 20 Torr. As a re­ sult, 5.2 g of isopropanol were obtained as distillate. The residue so obtained was a colorless transparent viscous liquid (T-1). The obtained (T-1) has not free carboxylic acid, is slightly soluble in carbon tetrachloride. Infra-red absorption spectrum of (T-1) is shown in Fig. 1 (a), that of the starting tetraisopropoxytitanium in Fig. 1 (b) and that of polyperfluoroalkylene ether carbo­ xylic acid in Fig. 1 (c). As shown in Fig. 1 (a), (T-1) has the absorption due to -COOTi at 1670 cm⁻¹ and the absorption of 1780 cm⁻¹, based on -COOH found in the starting polyperfluoroalkylene ether carboxylic acid, has disappeared. From the aforesaid infra-red spectra and from the amount of the isopropanol distillate (about 0.1 mol), (T-1) was presumed to be tris(2-propanolate)titanium-polyperfluo­ roalkylene ether carboxylate. (b) Sample (T-2). 10 g of the (T-1) synthetically prepared in the fore­ going (a) were introduced into the same reaction apparatus, to which 0.6 g of ethylene glycol were added and the mix­ ture was maintained under stirring. A white opaque highly viscous liquid was obtained. The liquids so obtained was charged into a rotary evaporator to remove the volatile matter for 4 hours at a bath temperature of 50°C and 20 torr. 1 g of distillate resulted and a semi-transparent viscous liquid (T-2) was obtained at over 40°C. The distillate was found to be isopropanol as a result of the analysis by gas-chromatography. (T-2) was slightly soluble in carbon tetrachloride. (T-2) was presumed to be (T-1) in which one 2-propanolate group was substituted by one ethylene glycol radical. (c) Sample (T-3). A 500 cc four-necked flask, provided with a stirrer, reflux condenser, thermometer and dropping device, was charged with 142 g (0.5 mol) of tetraisopropoxytitanium, 50 g (0.5 mol) of acetylacetone being added dropwise under stirring in the course of 2 hours and the system was cooled so that the reaction temperature did not exceed 40°C. 10 g of the resulting yellow and transparent reaction solution were put into a 200 cc four-necked flask provided with a stirrer, reflux condenser, thermometer and dropping device, to which 36 g of the polyperfluoroalkylene ether carboxylic acid [F(C₃F₆O) 3.3 CF(CF₃)COOH] were added drop­ wise under stirring in the course of 3 hours and the mixtu­ re was cooled so that the temperature did not exceed 40°C. A yellow slightly turbid viscous liquid (T-3) was obtained. (T-3) was slightly soluble in carbon tetrachloride. (T-3) was presumed to be T-1 in which two 2-propanola­ te groups were substituted by one acetylacetone radical and one polyperfluoroalkylene ether carboxylic acid radical. (d) Comparative Sample (CT-1). A 400 cc four-necked flask with a stirrer, reflux con­ denser, thermometer and dropper was charged with 9 g of perfluorocaprylic acid (n-C₇F₁₅COOH) and then dissolved in 200 g of n-hexane under stirring. Then 3.6 g of tetraiso­ propoxytitanium were slowly added dropwise under stirring by means of a dropper, the reaction temperature being main­ tained between 20° and 30°C and the mixture was maintained under stirring for other three hours to obtain a colorless transparent liquid (CT-1). The so obtained (CT-1) had 5.3 per cent of non-volati­ le matter. (2) Test on Repellency to Oil. Deck glasses for the microscope were throughly wash­ ed, dipped respectively in n-hexane, taken out and dried. One deck glass treated in the manner mentioned above was dipped into a solution of 1% organic titanium compound in carbon tetrachloride of T-1 and another deck glass into a solution prepared in the same way of (CT-1). Then the glasses were drawn up, rinsed immediately with fresh n-­ hexane, shaken off the attached n-hexane and dried for 30 minutes at 60°C. Onto the deck glasses treated in the manner described above and also onto the untreated clean deck glass one drop of polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil (product of Montedison S.p.A., Fomblin R Y) and one drop of a liquid paraffine were put to determine the contact angle. The results of determination are shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1 the surface of the glass treated with the surface treating agent of this invention (T-1) exhibits repellency to oil against liquid paraffine and a comparable degree of affinity with polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil to the surface of clean untreated glass. On the contrary, the surface of glass treated with the Comparative Sample (CT-1) shows repellency to oil against both liquid paraffine and polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil. (3) Test on Corrosion. Steel plates 0.5 x 50 x 150 mm in size (JIS-G-3141), which were preliminarily degreased with trichloroethylene, washed, dipped into n-hexane and dried, were dipped respec­ tively in CCl₄ solutions of 1% by weight of the sample (T-1), (T-2), (T-3) and in the solution of (CT-1) for five minutes, drawn up and washed with fresh carbon te­ trachloride, afterwards the plates were maintained at a temperature of 60°C for a period of 30 minutes. Also, for comparison, a steel plate was treated with a commercially available solution of titanium coupling agent (CT-2) composed of isopropoxytitanium triisostearate as the main component. The steel plates and untreated plate were applied with polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil (product of Montedison S.p.A., Fomblin R Z) and hung in a dessiccator charged with 100 g of carbon tetrachloride in which 1 g of chlorine was dissolved and with 100 g of distilled water, being left un­ disturbed at room temperature to observe the development of rust on the steeel plates. Results are shown in Table 2. The surface treating agents of this invention, as de­ monstrated by the above working examples, show affinity with polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil, barrier characteri­ stic to corrosive materials and repellency to oil. Accordingly, the surface treating agents of this invention can be immediately applied onto the surface of a substrate like metal as anti-corrosion and anti-fouling film. It can also be applied either alone or in addition to polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil to the systems where polyperfluoroalkylene ether oil has been hitherto used. The present invention provides surface treating agents useful per se as chemically stable and inert oil, or as oil additives having superior surface activity and an­ ti-corrosive property for metal surface and it has a very great industrial meaning.

Claims: 1) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents consisting of an organic titanium compound having per Ti atom at least one radical (A) of fluoropolyether structure linked by a carboxy group to the titanium and at least one hydrolyzable group (B), and in the monomer form having the general following formula: AaTiB(4-a) in which a in an integer from 1 to 3; in the polymeric form said compounds containing in the molecule the linkage Ti-O-Ti and corresponds to the general formula -iO(iO)bi- in which b is an integer from 0 to 4, the hydrolyzable radical B being such not to generate Hhal by hydro­ lysis, in which hal is Cl, Br, in which compounds the valences of the Ti are saturated by A and B and having per Ti atom at least one radical A and one radical B as defined above. 2) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 1, in which the hydrolyzable group B is an RO- group in which R is alkyl optionally substituted, al­ kenyl, or an enolate form of β-di-keto-compound or of β-keto-ester. 3) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 2, in which R of RO- group has from 1 to 8 carbon atoms and RO- is selected from the following groups: CH₃O-, C₂H₅O-, i-C₃H₇O-, n-C₄H₉O-, C₈H₁₇O-, NH₂CH₂CH₂O-, CH₂=CH-CH₂O-; or a radical corresponding to mono-valency of the di-valent alcohol shown by the groups, (wherein R′ and R″ mean either the same or different 4) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 2, in which B is enolate form of β-di-keto compound or β-keto-ester selected from the following groups: wherein Y means either a methyl group or an alkoxy group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably methyl aceto­ acetate, ethyl acetoacetate, propyl acetoacetate and butyl acetoacetate. 5) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 1 in which B is of the type -NR₁R₂ in which R₁ and R₂ have the same meaning of R as already defined. 6) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 1 in which A is a fluoropolyether having a car­ boxy group and having the following general repeating unit: (CnF2nO) wherein n ranges from 1 to 3 in the case of perfluoro­ oxyalkylene repeating units. 7) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 1, in which the fluoropolyether of group A has the following repeating units: I) (CF₂CF₂O), (CF₂O), said units being randomly distributed along the perfluoropolyether chain; II) , (CFXO), with X = F or CF₃, said units being randomly distributed along the perfluoropo­ lyether chain; III) (CF₂CF₂O), , (CFXO), with X = F or CF₃, with said units being randomly distributed along the perfluoropolyether chain; IV) ; V) (CH₂CF₂CF₂O); VI) (CF₂CF₂CF₂O); VII) -(-CF₂-CF₂-CH₂O)p-R′f-O-(CH₂CF₂-CF₂-O)q- wherein R′f is a fluoroalkylene group, p and q are integers comprised within the range of from 0 to 200, and p+q is at least 2; VIII) wherein R″f is a fluoroalkylene group, n′ is either 0 or 1, a and b are integers, and a+b is at least 2; IX) (CF₂CF₂O), X) wherein Rf equal or different are F or a perfluoro­ alkyl group XI) (CF₂OCF₂CF₂O). 8) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 7, in which the fluoropolyether is selected from the types: I), II), III), IV), having average molecular weight ranging from 400 to 8000, preferably from 700 to 4000. 9) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 7 in which the carboxy group can be linked to the repeating units through a divalent radical: -Cp″F2p″-(Z)p′-COO- in which p″ is 1 or 2, and p′ is 0 or 1 and Z is se­ lected from the following groups: -(CH₂-)t (t = 1-4), -CH₂OCH₂- -(CH₂CH₂O)tCH₂-, -CONHCH₂CH₂-. 10) Fluoropolyether surface treating agents according to claim 9, in which the other terminal group of the fluoropolyether carboxy radical is a perfluoroalkoxy group having 1-3 C atoms in case of monofunctional compounds; or -OCp″F2p″-(Z)p′-COO- in case of bifunctional derivatives, p″ and p′, and Z having the meaning indicated above. 11) Process for preparing the fluoropolyethers surface treating agents according to claim 1, by reacting car­ boxylic fluoropolyethers indicated above with titanium compounds in which the titanium valences are saturated by radical B indicated above.

Inventors: AIZAWA, MAMORU, MORI, ATSUSHI, SATO, MASAYUCHI
Applicants: NIPPON SODA CO., LTD.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: C23F11
IPC codes: C09K3, C10M159, C08G65, C07F7, C23F11, C10N30, C10M155