Enhanced antifouling strategy with a strong synergistic effect of fluorescent antifouling and contact bacteriostasis using 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin

Abstract

Low surface energy coating can protect marine equipment from biofouling, however, remaining a challenge in static applications due to the lack of shear force provided by water scour. Herein, we developed a polyurethane with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polytetrahydrofuran (PTMG) as main chains and 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin as antifouling group by condensation polymerization. Besides the fluorescence response to the ultraviolet band in seawater with high transmittance, the typical benzopyrone framework of 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin endows antibacterial properties. Owing to the strong synergistic effect of fluorescence antifouling and contact bacteriostasis mechanism, the PDMS-based fouling-release surface achieves a superior antifouling effect with an extremely small amount (less than 0.20 wt%) of the antifouling group, which is almost the lowest among previous research. And 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin can be naturally derived from plants, which explored novel research for environmentally friendly antifouling strategy.