Poison Dart Frogs Inspired Marine Antifouling Coating Based on Phase Separation

Inspired by the process of poison transport from in vivo to the skin of poison dart frogs, a novel polyurethane marine antifouling coating PU-xA is prepared, in which the antifouling agent N-(2,3,4-trihydroxy-5-acrylamide methylbenzyl)acrylamide (AMTHBA) would enrich at the surface of the coating due to phase separation. The surface morphology and properties of the composite coating are investigated through the transmittance and haze tester, the atomic force microscope (AFM), and the water contact angle. With the addition of AMTHBA, the water contact angle of the coating gradually decreases from 94.1°± 0.5° to 72.6°± 0.5°, and the surface energy increases from 30.8 to 42.1 J m⁻². After being immersed in seawater for 28 days, the tensile strength and the elongation at break of PU-25A still kept 3.0 MPa and 136.3%, respectively. The antibacterial performance of the coating increases with the increase of storage time, and the antibacterial rate of PU-25A against Escherichia coli increases from 63.3% to 97.2% after 30 days of storage, and the antibacterial rate against Staphylococcus aureus increases from 59% to 80.1% after 30 days of storage. The outstanding resistance of seawater, antibacterial, and anti-algae adhesion of the PU-25A indicate that PU-25A has potential applications in the field of marine antifouling.