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Fluorinated/siloxane copolymer blends for fouling release: chemical characterisation and biological evaluation with algae and barnacles

Lookup NU author(s): Sheelagh Conlan, Robert Mutton, Professor Tony Clare

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Abstract

Fouling-release coatings were prepared from blends of a fluorinated/siloxane copolymer with a poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) matrix in order to couple the low modulus character of PDMS with the low surface tension typical for fluorinated polymers. The content of the surface-active copolymer was varied in the blend over a broad range (0.15-10 wt % with respect to PDMS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling analyses were performed on the coatings to establish the distribution of specific chemical constituents throughout the coatings, and proved enrichment in fluorine of the outermost layers of the coating surface. Addition of the fluorinated/siloxane copolymer to the PDMS matrix resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in settlement of barnacle, Balanus amphitrite, cyprids. The release of young plants of Ulva, a soft fouling species, and young barnacles showed that adhesion strength on the fluorinated/siloxane copolymer was significantly lower than the siloxane control. However, differences in adhesion strength were not directly correlated with the concentration of copolymer in the blends.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Marabotti I, Morelli A, Orsini LM, Martinelli E, Galli G, Chiellini E, Lien EM, Pettitt ME, Callow ME, Callow JA, Conlan SL, Mutton RJ, Clare AS, Kocijan A, Donik C, Jenko M

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Biofouling

Year: 2009

Volume: 25

Issue: 6

Pages: 481-493

ISSN (print): 0892-7014

ISSN (electronic): 1026-7867

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927010902913187

DOI: 10.1080/08927010902913187

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