The present invention provides a new fluorine-containing acetophenone derivative useful as a photo initiator, and a surface layer material containing the fluorine-containing acetophenone derivative. The present invention provides inexpensively an article with a hard coat excellent in anti-staining property, lubricity, scratch resistance and abrasion resistance, and provides a method for forming the hard coat. A fluorine-containing acetophenone derivative represented by the following general formula (I): ##STR1##

wherein R₁, R₂ and R₃ each independently represent an organic group other than aryl group, a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom or a hydroxyl group, provided that the following case does not take place: all of R₁, R₂ and R₃ are simultaneously hydrogen atoms; and any two of R₁, R₂ and R₃ may be linked to each other to form a ring, and R₄ represents a fluorine-containing organic group. Hard coat layer 2 is formed to contact a surface of an article, and a fluorine-containing surface layer 3 using the compound is formed to contact a surface of the hard coat layer 2.