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

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), E11 (MW = 0.5-0.6 kg mol) and E12 (MW = 1-1.4 kg mol). 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 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 and the bacterium . The E9 gels showed the best performance, achieving a 73% reduction in cells and a 92% reduction in biofilm remaining after water jetting treatments, when compared with the commercial Intersleek product IS700.