Polymer-based superhydrophobic coating against biofouling

Biofouling is a major issue for many industries including shipping, oil, and gas and can lead to accelerated corrosion, particularly for structures and components in and around salt water. Many efforts are undertaken to lessen its impact and financial losses. One of the promising methodologies is application of antibiofouling coatings to minimise biofouling, and the best results were observed with a superhydrophobic coating. Ample literature reviews on superhydrophobic coating have shown biofouling inhibition on the surface due to high wetting angles similar to the phenomenon on a lotus leaf. The hydrophobic coating can be deposited using multiple techniques such as electroless plating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sol–gel, and electrodeposition.

In the new review, an effort has been made to encompass such experimental work under a single domain and compare the effectiveness of each coating. In addition, mechanical properties and surface characteristics such as wetting angle, surface energy, and morphology were also discussed for various types of polymeric coating. Similarly, the application of nanoparticles such as ZnO, SiO₂, TiO₂, and CeO₂ was found to improve the substrate’s mechanical properties, the durability of coatings, improvement in wear properties, adhesion, interlaminar cohesion, and increased wetting angle and above all, improve superhydrophobicity. These improvements are compared for various nanoparticle integrated coatings. In addition, other novel approaches to prevent marine biofouling by various polymer-based coatings such as superhydrophobic, foul-release, and foul-resistant coatings are discussed in the paper.

The review has been published in Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, Volume 20, Issue 5, September 2023.