Biodegradable polymers for marine antibiofouling: Poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(butylene succinate) blend as controlled release system of organic antifoulant

Abstract

Polymer carrier is critical for the controlled release of antifoulant in marine anti-biofouling. We have prepared biodegradable polymer blend consisting of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and used it as carrier of organic antifoulant (4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-isothiazolone). Polarizing optical microscope (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements show that the spherulite size of PCL decreases and its crystallinity slightly varies as PBS fraction increases leading the interfacial regions between PCL and PBS spherulites to increase in the total area. Our studies reveal that such amorphous interfacial regions allow the blend to degrade at a constant rate and the antifoulants to be uniformly dispersed in the blend. The antifoulants are released at a constant rate as the blend degrades in marine environment, which can be modulated by the blend composition. Marine field tests demonstrate that such a system has good marine anti-biofouling performance.