NICOP - Development of Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Interfaces on Elastomer for Marine Fouling Resistance
Abstract
Marine biofouling is a major concern in the case of surfaces subjected toaqueous environments, accompanying with increased operational and maintenancecost of ship hulls, high fuel consumption, generation of chemical waste, and dispersalof invasive marine species. In this proposal, we aim to developing fundamentalknowledge on non-toxic, non-biocide-release based coatings on elastomer for???prevent marine attachment??? and ???promote biofoulant detachment???. The materialsproperties necessary to design an effective antifouling coating include high flexibility,low elastic modulus, low or high surface energy, low surface roughness, highmolecular mobility, optimized thickness, and long stability. However, these are nounequivocal explanation to unveil the attachment and detachment behaviors of marineorganisms on materials with a wide range of surface properties.Recently, more and more evidences point to the implementation of elastomerPoly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as a basal material for ???biofoulant detachment???.However, PDMS with the property of ???prevention of marine attachment??? remainsunfulfilled and highly desirable. Surfaces with much higher or lower critical surfacetension allow prevention of the attachment of biofoulants due to thermodynamicallyunfavorable tendency to dehydration and adhesion. Hence, to design coatings via thecombination of ???biofoulant detachment??? and ???prevention of attachment??? strategies ispreferred to modification of PDMS surfaces to afford superhydrophobicityorsuperhydrophilicity. However, owing to the high rotation of ?? chains, condensation ofsurface hydroxyl groups, and transport of low-molar-mass molecules of PDMS,modified silicones undergo reconstruction, leading to recovery of native siliconesurfaces and low efficiency of modification. Our group recently successfullydeveloped modification technology by grafting zwitterionic silane molecules ontoPDMS for the long-term antifouling properties against lipids, bacteria, cells andproteins. Because of the highly polar nature and cross-linking network of thezwitterionic silane adlayer, the recovery was strongly suppressed. In this proposal, thefouling resistant interfaces against marine organisms in sea water will be developedby silanization of elastomer PDMS with superhydrophobic fluorinated-silane andsuperhydrophilic zwtterionic silane. The direct comparison between two extremewetting surfaces on PDMS will be conducted in order to fundamentally define thesurface tension components in the fouling resistance on the basis of identical modulusof substrates. Such an approach sets the stage for future development of effectivemarine coating imposed by long-term usability. The work will be broadlydisseminated through presentations by the PI, co-PI and students at informal publicscience talks, conferences and departmental seminars. Training will be augmented by collaborations with other departments and institutions such as Department of MarineEnvironment & Ecology at National Taiwan Ocean University, providing studentswith a diverse educational experience. We aim to recruit and train minority andfemale graduate and undergraduate students and to educate the general public aboutemerging materials fabrication methods and the marine sciences required tounderstand these processes. We are actively involved in mentoring underrepresentedundergraduate students in a project that is directly related to the proposed work.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 19, 2018
- Source ID
- N629091812164
Entities
People
- Chun-jen Huang
Organizations
- National Central University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy