On the mechanism of marine fouling-prevention performance of oil-containing silicone elastomers

Journal Article · Tue Jul 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15553-4· OSTI ID:1904515

Kolle, Stefan ^[1]; Ahanotu, Onyemaechi ^[2]; Meeks, Amos ^[2]; Stafslien, Shane ^[3]; Kreder, Michael ^[2]; Vanderwal, Lyndsi ^[3]; Cohen, Lucas ^[4]; Waltz, Grant ^[5]; Lim, Chin Sing ^[6]; Slocum, Dave ^[7]; Greene, Elisa Maldonado ^[4]; Hunsucker, Kelli ^[8]; Swain, Geoffrey ^[8]; Wendt, Dean ^[5]; Teo, Serena Lay-Ming ^[6]; Aizenberg, Joanna ^[2]

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1. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA
2. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (United States)
3. North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (United States)
4. University of San Diego, San Diego, CA (United States)
5. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (United States)
6. National University of Singapore (Singapore)
7. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Scituate, MA (United States)
8. Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL (United States)

For many decades, silicone elastomers with oil incorporated have served as fouling-release coating for marine applications. In a comprehensive study involving a series of laboratory-based marine fouling assays and extensive global field studies of up to 2-year duration, we compare polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coatings of the same composition loaded with oil via two different methods. One method used a traditional, one-pot pre-cure oil addition approach (o-PDMS) and another method used a newer post-cure infusion approach (i-PDMS). The latter displays a substantial improvement in biofouling prevention performance that exceeds established commercial silicone-based fouling-release coating standards. We interpret the differences in performance between one-pot and infused PDMS by developing a mechanistic model based on the Flory–Rehner theory of swollen polymer networks. Using this model, we propose that the chemical potential of the incorporated oil is a key consideration for the design of future fouling-release coatings, as the improved performance is driven by the formation and stabilization of an anti-adhesion oil overlayer on the polymer surface.

• Research Organization: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Office of Naval Research (ONR); US Department of Defense (USDOD); USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0005247
• OSTI ID: 1904515
• Journal Information: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 12; ISSN 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
biomedical engineering
marine biology
polymers
soft materials