Tough amphiphilic antifouling coating based on acrylamide, fluoromethacrylate and non-isocyanate urethane dimethacrylate crosslinker

Abstract

This study is focused on the development of tougher gels using combinations of acrylamide, fluoromethacrylate and a non-isocyanate urethane dimethacrylate (NIUDMA) crosslinker. The NIUDMA was tailored with 2, 3-epoxypropoxy propyl-polydimethylsiloxane segments E9 (MW = 0.36 kg mol⁻¹), E11 (MW = 0.5-0.6 kg mol⁻¹) and E12 (MW = 1-1.4 kg mol⁻¹). A 3 level Taguchi design was used to evaluate the role of each component of the ternary copolymer gel on the elastic modulus and toughness. The toughness ranged from 2.5-7 MJ m⁻³ whereas the modulus ranged from 27-70 MPa. The formulations with the highest toughness and modulus were screened for their antifouling potential in biological assays against the microalga Navicula incerta and the bacterium Cellulophaga lytica. The E9 gels showed the best performance, achieving a 73% reduction in N. incerta cells and a 92% reduction in C. lytica biofilm remaining after water jetting treatments, when compared with the commercial Intersleek product IS700.

Keywords:

• Antifouling
• amphiphilic
• non-isocyanate
• Taguchi
• toughness

Acknowledgements

The authors would also like to thank Dr John Finlay from the University of Newcastle for his valuable discussion on diatoms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors of this paper would like to thank the Office of Naval Research Global (grant nos. N00014-16-1-3120 and N00014-17-1-2153) for financial support.