Antibiofouling Coatings For Marine Sensors: Progress and Perspectives on Materials, Methods, Impacts, and Field Trial Studies

The attachment of marine organisms, for example, bacteria, proteins, inorganic molecules, and more on a sea-submerged surface is a global concern for marine industries as it controls the surface for further marine growth. Applications requiring the estimation of real-time information from oceanographic sensors conveyed for long-term deployment are vulnerable to biofouling. Therefore, an effective approach to controlling the biofouling that accumulates on marine sensors is paramount. To date, many technologies have been explored to impede biofouling; however, several factors constrain many strategies, including their reliance on environmentally toxic materials, high fabrication costs, poor coatings, and nontransparency. These challenges have motivated work to develop numerous advanced and innovative strategies based on mechanical methods, irradiation, and design of polymeric/nonpolymeric coatings with fouling resistance, fouling release, and fouling degrading coatings to protect marine sensors and housing materials from biofouling. This Review presents recent progress in the developed biofouling control strategies that have been applied to commercially available sensors and sensor housing materials. Moreover, recent findings in the literature are highlighted while considering the wettability principles for air and water environments, antifouling performance, practical feasibility, environmental and economic impact of coatings, and field trial studies. Here, we emphasize how these features can play major roles synergistically to affect antifouling coatings against nano- to microlevel organisms. This review will not only allow researchers to understand the design principles but also contribute to the development of new cost-effective strategies.