Novel biocidefree nanostructured antifouling coatings

摘要

TNO Science & Industry,within the EC funded AMBIO project,has been developing novel antifouling and fouling release coatings based on nanotechnology.The state of the art antifouling coatings consist of a variety of ingredients amongst which(inorganic)filler particles are important components.Dispersion of these particles is of utmost importance for the performance(appearance and functionality! of the final product and its application.Nanocomposite coating systems have been produced by multiple surface modification of anisotropic nanopar-ticles in order to create desired grades of dispersion.This surface modification allows the nanoparticles to fully disperse or segregate in coating systems thus altering the bulk and surface properties of the coating.Expertise in particle modification and chemistry of the coating formulation allows us to tailor the properties of the coatings and thus its performance and applicability.The(modified)nanoparticles are dispersed in sol-gel coating systems to create well defined topography at the nano,"intermediate " and micrometer scale.In this paper the modification of different particles will be presented as well as the effect of the particle modification on antifouling and fouling release performance.The effect of the(nano)structuring was evaluated by determining the antifouling and fouling release properties of the coatings with respect to controlled bio-assays,utilising algae,marine bacteria and barnacles.The coatings were found to inhibit settlement of the marine bacteria and showed especially promising foul-ing-release results.