Designing novel anti-biofouling coatings on titanium based on the ferroelectric-induced strategy

Abstract Biofouling originated from ubiquitous bacteria has affected quantities of practical applications, such as biomedical devices, biosensors and marine industry, thus the design for anti-biofouling coatings has aroused great concern in the scientific community. However, current anti-biofouling strategies based on either the release of biocidal compounds or surface textured/chemical design (superhydrophobic grille) cannot satisfy the practical demands when encountering real-world complex conditions. Here we, inspired by the ferroelectric/piezoelectric effect, report a refreshing strategy to prepare anti-biofouling coatings. The BaTiO3 particles are embedded in TiO2 coatings by micro-arc oxidation of pure titanium, and the obtained coatings have marvellous antifouling performance against Gram-negative E. coli. The contact potential differences (CPD) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are successfully induced by the spontaneous polarization of micro/nano BaTiO3, and then the BaTiO3-incorporated TiO2 coatings (BaTiO3/TiO2) can effectively resist fouling organisms. Our experiments demonstrate that the ferroelectric effect of coatings plays a crucial role in the antimicrobial mechanism. It is therefore believed that our design strategy could also guide the development of other anti-biofouling materials and bring a new era to the marine antifouling.