Abstract
Inspired by the antifouling properties of scaly fish, the conventional silicone coating with phenylmethylsilicone oil (PSO/PDMS) composite coating was fabricated and modified with single layer polystyrene (PS) microsphere (PSO/PDMS-PS) arrays. The fish scale like micro-nano structures were fabricated on the surface of bio-inspired coating, which can reduce the contact area with the secreted protein membrane of fouling organisms effectively and prevent further adhesion between fouling organisms and bio-inspired coating. Meanwhile, PSO exuded to the coating surface has the similar function with mucus secreted by fish epidermis, which make the coating surface slithery and will be polished with the fouling organisms in turbulent waters. Compared to PSO/PDMS coating without any structure and conventional silicone coating, PSO/PDMS-PS showed better antiadhesion activity against both marine bacteria and benthic diatom (Navicula sp.). Additionally, the existence of PS microspheres can reduce the release rate of PSO greatly, which will extend the service life of coating. Compared to PSO/PDMS coating, the sustained release efficiency of PSO/PDMS-PS coating can reach 23.2%. This facile method for fabricating the bio-inspired composite slow-release antifouling coating shows a widely fabricating path for the development of synergistic anti-fouling coating.
Highlights
Marine fouling is mainly caused by marine fouling organisms and their metabolites, decomposition products, and some organic substances in the ocean
Marine fouling organism is the biggest factor for generating marine fouling, which can accumulate on the bottom of ships and surface of all facilities in seawater
The architecture of the coating surface was observed by scanning electron microscope (Philips, The Netherlands), and the front view and cross-sectional view of each sample were measured
Summary
Marine fouling is mainly caused by marine fouling organisms and their metabolites, decomposition products, and some organic substances in the ocean. It was reported that hydrophobic SiO2 microspheres were applied to the surface of the material to increase the surface roughness and improve the hydrophobicity, which is of great significance to the self-cleaning performance [34] These topographic features and a mucosal coating secreted by epidermal cells conduce to the antifouling capabilities of these marine species [14]. The closely packed fish scale like microstructures can slow down the exudation of silicone oil effectively, which can prolong the service life of the coating In this way, the fabricated phenylmethylsilicone oil/polydimethylsiloxane-polystyrene (PSO/PDMS-PS) composite coating gets a better antifouling ability under the synergistic antifouling effect of fish scale like microstructures and secretion
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