Hydrolyzable Additive-Based Silicone Elastomers: A New Approach for Antifouling Coatings

Abstract

Fouling Release Coatings are marine antifouling coatings based on silicone elastomers. Contrary to commonly used biocide-based antifouling coatings, they do not release biocides into the marine environment, however, they suffer from poor antifouling efficacy during idle periods. To improve their antifouling performances in static conditions, various amounts of hydrolyzable polymers were incorporated within a silicone matrix. These hydrolyzable polymers were chosen for the well-known hydrolytic degradation mechanism of their main chain, e.g. poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), or of their ester pending groups, e.g. poly(bis(trimethylsilyloxy)methylsilyl methacrylate) (PMATM2). The degradation kinetics of such hydrolyzable silicone coatings were assessed by mass loss measurements during immersion in deionized water. Coatings containing PMATM2 exhibited a maximum mass loss after 12 weeks, whereas PCL-based coatings showed no significant mass loss after 24 weeks. Dynamic contact angle measurements revealed the modifications of the coatings surface chemistry with an amphiphilic behavior after water exposure. The attachment of macrofoulers on these coatings were evaluated by field tests in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrating the short or long-term antifouling effect of these hydrolyzable polymers embedded in the silicone matrix. The settlement of A. amphitrite barnacles on the different coatings indicated inhospitable behaviors towards larval barnacles for coatings with at least 15 wt % of additives.

Biofouling in marine aquaculture: a review of recent research and developments

“…Silicone-based fouling-release (FR) technologies have been trialled to develop environmentally benign coatings that reduce adhesion and improve the ability to clean nets (see references in Nurioglu et al 2015, Pradhan et al 2018, and Gevaux et al 2019. Although these coatings provide little preventative benefit when applied to fish cage nets, siliconbased FR coatings offer the potential for improved biofouling control in conjunction with mechanical cleaning methods (Swain and Shinjo 2014;Edwards et al 2015).…”

The Effect of Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) Length on the Wettability and Surface Chemistry of PEG-Fluoroalkyl-Modified Polystyrene Diblock Copolymers and Their Two-Layer Films with Elastomer Matrix

“…Polymer surface-active additives are used to modify and opportunely modulate the surface properties of the polymer matrix into which they are incorporated—either physically dispersed [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] or chemically linked [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. In fact, by taking advantage of the ability of the additive to selectively segregate at the surface of a polymer film, the wettability properties are commonly changed [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

Electrochemical Polymerization of PEDOT–Graphene Oxide–Heparin Composite Coating for Anti-Fouling and Anti-Clotting of Cardiovascular Stents

“…A series of polymeric materials have been widely applied as anti-fouling coatings due to their excellent characteristics, such as low elastic modulus, low surface free energy, and low surface roughness [27,28,29,30,31]. Polystyrene sulfonate (PSS), a highly conductive polymer, is commonly used for solar films.…”