Abstract
In this study, the antifouling (AF) performance of different carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites (PCs) was examined directly in the natural seawater, and further analyzed using the Multidimensional Scale Analyses (MDS) method. The early-adherent bacterial communities in the natural biofilms adhering to different PC surfaces were investigated using the single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique. The PCs demonstrated differences and reinforced AF properties in the field, and they were prone to clustering according to the discrepancies within different CNT fillers. Furthermore, most PC surfaces only demonstrated weak modulating effects on the biological colonization and successional process of the early bacterial communities in natural biofilms, indicating that the presence of the early colonized prokaryotic microbes would be one of the primary causes of colonization and deterioration of the PCs. C6 coating seems to be promising for marine AF applications, since it has a strong perturbation effect on pioneer prokaryotic colonization.
Highlights
The occurrence of biofouling on synthetic surfaces is a major issue for the shipping industries in marine environments [1], which has resulted in substantial economic and ecological consequences.For example, total cruise expenses are greatly increased by approximately 77% annually worldwide, primarily owing to the constantly enhanced propulsive power and fuel consumption [2]
The single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) presence/absence binary data matrices constructed in terms of band positions and intensities were used to identify the differences between the pioneer bacterial communities developed on the pure PDMS and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified PDMS composites via the comparison of the diversity indices calculated by the Biodap software, which were able to give detailed descriptions of the dynamics of the early bacterial communities
We directly examined the AF capacity of the aforementioned PDMS-based coatings in natural seawater and established a fouling evaluation system based on the Multidimensional Scale Analyses (MDS) method in order to further quantify the fouling conditions among different PDMS nanocomposites (PCs) surfaces, in the context of the adhesive number of five representative major macrofoulers, including barnacles, mussels, ascidians, Ulva and seaweeds
Summary
The occurrence of biofouling on synthetic surfaces is a major issue for the shipping industries in marine environments [1], which has resulted in substantial economic and ecological consequences. Biocide-released AF coatings have been demonstrated to be environmentally damaging to non-target living marine organisms, due to the presence of a range of poisonous organic biocides, such as tributyltin (TBT) Their use in the coating industry has been globally restricted and prohibited [11]. The PDMS resin possesses a superior environmentally-friendly nature, with characteristics such as high heat resistance, surface inertness, high hydrophobicity, as well as excellent fouling anti-adhesion characteristics, presenting viable options in several marine industries [15]. These PDMS-based nanocomposites have been systematically investigated in recent years, mainly because of their facile preparation and ecological stability [16,17]. A surface evaluation system based on the MDS method was established in order to quantify the fouling conditions among different PC surfaces examined in the field
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