Recent developments of titanium dioxide materials for aquatic antifouling application

Abstract

Biological fouling is undesirable accumulation of various organisms on submerged artificial surfaces. Combating biological fouling on watercrafts and immersed infrastructures is an eternal pursuit since ancient times. Traditionally, toxins, such as arsenic, mercury and tributyltin, were used as antifoulants on ship hulls but they are very harmful to both human and environment. Therefore, worldwide ban on these toxins has been implemented and other toxins with relatively lower environmental impact were used in antifouling coatings along with copper compounds. Unfortunately, these materials still pose a threat to various marine organisms. To completely eliminate this threat, coatings with complete absence of toxic materials have been developed. Nevertheless, these coatings have their own deficiencies, for instance, foul release coatings cannot protect stationary objects. In the past decade, many articles reported that titanium dioxide (TiO2) opens up new possibilities for antifouling materials. This article reports the current development of TiO2 containing materials for antifouling applications.