Synthesis of environmental-friendly fouling release coating, PDMS-X, to prevent the attachment of marine biofouling

Marine bio-fouling refers to the collection of undesired marine microbes, animals, and plants on the surface of materials immersed in seawater. The marine bio-fouling phenomenon is very detrimental to industrial and marine facilities because it can slow down the speed of ships and increase fuel consumption, resulting in CO₂ emissions. Biofouling corrodes metal and concrete structures, blocks power plant seawater pipes, and impedes the exchange of nutrients in aquaculture areas. The best strategy for inhibiting marine bio-fouling is coating with antifouling or fouling-release components. Antifouling can cause irreversible damage to marine ecology. Meanwhile, the fouling release is more environmentally friendly because the basic principle of this coating prevents the adhesion or attachment of marine microorganisms. In this paper, the investigation of novel synthetization of fouling release polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) incorporated with TiO₂ and graphene oxide (GO) coating is reported. The XRD analysis indicated the addition of TiO₂ in the coating formula up to 3 % with the diffraction peak shifted to 2θ = 25.44° confirming the anatase structure of nanocrystal TiO₂. The surface roughness in the AFM result also increases in the nm scale by adding TiO₂. Meanwhile, from the contact angle measurement, the intercalation of TiO₂-GO did not influence the sample's hydrophobic properties with a value in the range of 115–117°. The test field shows that PDMS-TiO₂-GO coating can be applied to various substrates, including fibreglass, acrylic, iron, wood, and concrete. Adding TiO₂ and GO reduced the biofouling coverage in all substrates except for the acrylic-based. The best coating application is in the wood substrate with good adhesion properties and low biofouling coverage (3 %) after being immersed in the sea for eight weeks.