Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Polymeric Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Centre of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213164, P. R. China.
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Polymer Processing Engineering of Ministry of Education, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020 Apr 8;12(14):16849-16855. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b22748. Epub 2020 Mar 25.
The antifouling properties of traditional self-polishing marine antifouling coatings are mainly achieved based on their hydrolysis-sensitive side groups or the degradable polymer main chains. Here, we prepared a highly branched copolymer for self-polishing antifouling coatings, in which the primary polymer chains are bridged by degradable fragments (poly-ε-caprolactone, PCL). Owing to the partial or complete degradation of PCL fragments, the remaining coating on the surface can be broken down and eroded by seawater. Finally, the polymeric surface is self-polished and self-renewed. The designed highly branched copolymers were successfully prepared by reversible complexation mediated polymerization (RCMP), and their primary main chains had an of approximately 3410 g·mol. The hydrolytic degradation results showed that the degradation of the copolymer was controlled, and the degradation rate increased with increasing contents of degradable fragments. The algae settlement assay tests indicated that the copolymer itself has some antibiofouling ability. Moreover, the copolymer can serve as a controlled release matrix for antifoulant 4,5-dichloro-2-octylisothiazolone (DCOIT), and the release rate increases with the contents of degradable fragments. The marine field tests confirmed that these copolymer-based coatings exhibited excellent antibiofouling ability for more than 3 months. The current copolymer is derived from commonly used monomers and an easily conducted polymerization method. Hence, we believe this method may offer innovative insights into marine antifouling applications.
传统的自抛光海洋防污涂料的防污性能主要基于其水解敏感侧基或可降解聚合物主链来实现。在这里，我们制备了一种用于自抛光防污涂料的高度支化共聚物，其中主链由可降解片段（聚己内酯，PCL）桥接。由于 PCL 片段的部分或完全降解，表面残留的涂层会被海水分解和侵蚀。最终，聚合物表面会自动抛光和自我更新。通过可逆配位聚合（RCMP）成功制备了设计的高度支化共聚物，其主链的数均分子量约为 3410 g·mol。水解降解结果表明，共聚物的降解是可控的，降解速率随可降解片段含量的增加而增加。藻类附着试验表明，共聚物本身具有一定的抗生物附着能力。此外，共聚物可用作防污剂 4,5-二氯-2-辛基异噻唑啉酮（DCOIT）的控制释放基质，释放速率随可降解片段含量的增加而增加。海洋现场试验证实，这些基于共聚物的涂料具有超过 3 个月的优异的防污能力。目前的共聚物是由常用的单体和一种易于进行的聚合方法衍生而来的。因此，我们相信这种方法可能为海洋防污应用提供新的思路。
