Fluoroethylene vinyl ether (FEVE) resins were developed in Japan in the late 1970s and entered the commercial market in 1982. FEVE resins are amorphous A-B type copolymers with repeating units of fluoroethylene and substituted vinyl ether. Unlike pure fluoropolymers, FEVE resins are soluble in solvent due to the vinyl ether groups. Solvent solubility transforms FEVE resins from high-performance polymers into high-performance resins for coatings.
FEVE resins have characteristics of both fluoropolymers and hydrocarbons. The fluoroethylene groups are the strength of the FEVE resin. These groups are what make this class of polymers so resistant to UV degradation. The C-F bond is strong. The energy of this bond is ~486 kJ/mol,1 while the energy of UV radiation at 300 nm is ~399 kJ/mol. The alternating pattern, shown in Figure 1, is critical for the extreme UV resistance properties.2 The chemically stable and UV-resistant fluoroethylene unit sterically and chemically protects the neighboring vinyl ether unit.3