ZnO superhydrophobic coating via convenient spraying and its biofouling resistance

Abstract

The attachment of microbial biomass on solid surfaces, also referred to as biofouling, is a universal phenomenon that occurs in natural and engineering systems. However, traditional antibiofouling surfaces based on either the release of biocidal compounds or surface chemical/physical design have some drawbacks, such as the high cost, the complicated process, the low accuracy, and the limitation to achieve coatings over large area. Herein, to overcome these problems, a superhydrophobic coating is fabricated via spraying the mixture of hydrophobized zinc oxide nanoparticles and epoxy resin. The zinc oxide nanoparticles form a multiscale roughness, and the epoxy resin promotes the robustness of the coating. The so‐formed superhydrophobic coating resists the attachment of protein, bacteria, and marine algae. It is expected that the so‐developed superhydrophobic coating can be applied in the fields of biomedical instruments, antimicrobial material, marine platform, and ships.