Self-polishing emulsion platforms: Eco-friendly surface engineering of coatings toward water borne marine antifouling

Abstract Biofouling has been a great challenge for the exploitation of marine resources and could be generally avoided by decorating with protective coatings on the ships or equipment, while the process will produce a great amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and lead to or even aggravate environmental hazards. A high-performance water borne antifouling coating (WBAC) composed of self-polishing emulsion and bioactive ingredient was prepared, in which triisopropylsilyl ester acted as the self-polishing matrix and zwitterionic complex with cupric ion was used as the main antifoulant. The surface wettability, self-polishing rate, essential mechanical properties and the broad-spectrum antifouling capability were characterized in the lab. The experimental results indicated that the designed fully solvent free coating was capable of adjustable polishing rate and possessed robust stability and excellent antifouling performance for the settlement of green algae, red algae and diatom. Moreover, the long-term but robust performance of the engineered WBACs has been proved in the marine field test. Considering its solvent-free character and excellent antifouling behavior, this research would provide insights into the design of the next-generation of the eco-friendly and sustainable marine antifouling coating.