A highly antifouling and eco-friendly hydrogel coating based on capsaicin derivative -functionalized polymer

Abstract

Antifouling hydrogels have received extensive attention in the field of marine antifouling due to their excellent hydrophilicity and environmental friendliness. However, the antifouling applications of traditional hydrogels are limited by their poor antibacterial properties, and capsaicin derivatives, as nontoxic and environmentally friendly antifoulants, can be used to improve the antibacterial properties of hydrogels. From the perspective of practical application, hydrogels were obtained by crosslinking the copolymer of the capsaicin derivative N,N'-((4,5,6-trihydroxy-1,3-phenylene) bis (methylene)) diacrylamide (TPA), lipophilic monomers and hydrophilic monomers. This hydrogel exhibited anti-protein performance due to its hydrophilicity, and the capsaicin derivative caused the hydrogel coating to exhibit excellent algae inhibition performance (the minimum adhesion density of diatoms on the surface of the hydrogel coating was less than 440 cells/mm2), better algae anti-adhesion abilities than hydrogel reported in the other paper, and antibacterial effects (the antibacterial rate was more than 95%). After 73 d of panel testing in a real marine environment, there was still a good antifouling effect in the hydrogel coating. Hence, the antifouling performance was improved significantly by capsaicin derivative (TPA)-functionalized hydrogel coating. A new strategy is provided in this study for the preparation of hydrogels with superior marine antifouling properties.