A large-scale approach for superhydrophobic coating fabrication

Abstract

Marine structures such as ships, oil platforms, and oceanographic systems are permanently at risk of fouling affecting the performance of these structures. Antifouling paints were used to address the concerns associated to marine organisms, but they release toxic materials. This paper presents a new one-step environmentally friendly super hydrophobic coating considering the effect of particle size as well as weight percentage which is feasible in large-scale applications. Firstly, the aluminum flakes are become hydrophobic using silanization method. Then, they are mixed with polyester triglycidyl isocyanurate (TGIC) and are sprayed electrostatically. To assess the fabricated surfaces, effect of mixing time, weight percentage and particle size on the super hydrophobicity are evaluated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), contact angle measurement, and image processing. This method leads to a super hydrophobic coating with water contact angle about 152°. The super hydrophobic surface with particle size less than 45 µm results in higher resistance to algae settlement providing an excellent antifouling feature. The uniformity resulted from the particle size range 0–45 µm prevents any micro organisms settlement on the surface so that, after sixth day only some tiny algae are appeared on the surface sides.