Xiong Yanbin, Cui Junnan, Liu Xiaodan, Shu Haobo, Cao Pan
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China.
Gels. 2025 Jun 18;11(6):466. doi: 10.3390/gels11060466.
Marine biofouling, the process of marine microorganisms, algae, and invertebrates attaching to and forming biofilms on ship hulls, underwater infrastructure, and marine equipment in ocean environments, severely impacts shipping and underwater operations by increasing fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and corrosion risks, and by threatening marine ecosystem stability via invasive species transport. This study reports the development of a hydrogel-metal-organic framework (MOF)-quorum sensing inhibitor (QSI) antifouling coating on 304 stainless steel (SS) substrates. Inspired by mussel adhesion, a hydrophilic bionic hydrogel was first constructed via metal ion coordination. The traditional metal ion source was replaced with a zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) loaded with 2-(5H)-furanone (HF, a QSI) without altering coating formation. Physicochemical characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, and the diffraction of x-rays (XRD) confirmed successful HF loading into ZIF-8 with intact crystal structures. Antifouling tests showed HF@ZIF-8 enhanced antibacterial inhibition against (97.28%) and (>97%) and suppressed CV026 pigment synthesis at 0.25 mg/mL (sub-growth concentration). The reconstructed PG/PVP/PEI/HF@ZIF-8 coating achieved 72.47% corrosion inhibition via synergistic anodic protection and physical shielding. This work provides a novel green approach for surface antifouling and drag reduction, highlighting MOF-loaded QSIs as promising additives to enhance the antifouling performance of hydrogel coatings, anti-corrosion performance, and QSI performance for sustainable marine engineering applications.
海洋生物污损是指海洋微生物、藻类和无脊椎动物附着在海洋环境中的船体、水下基础设施和海洋设备上并形成生物膜的过程，它会增加燃料消耗、维护成本和腐蚀风险，还会通过入侵物种的传播威胁海洋生态系统的稳定性，从而严重影响航运和水下作业。本研究报道了在304不锈钢（SS）基材上开发一种水凝胶-金属有机框架（MOF）-群体感应抑制剂（QSI）防污涂层。受贻贝粘附的启发，首先通过金属离子配位构建了一种亲水性仿生水凝胶。在不改变涂层形成的情况下，用负载有2-(5H)-呋喃酮（HF，一种QSI）的沸石咪唑酯骨架-8（ZIF-8）取代了传统的金属离子源。使用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）、热重分析（TGA）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、高分辨率透射电子显微镜（HRTEM）、布鲁诺尔-埃米特-泰勒（BET）法和X射线衍射（XRD）进行的物理化学表征证实，HF成功负载到ZIF-8中，且晶体结构完整。防污测试表明，HF@ZIF-8在0.25 mg/mL（亚生长浓度）时增强了对 （97.28%）和 （>97%）的抗菌抑制作用，并抑制了CV026色素的合成。重建的PG/PVP/PEI/HF@ZIF-8涂层通过协同阳极保护和物理屏蔽实现了72.47%的缓蚀率。这项工作为表面防污和减阻提供了一种新颖的绿色方法，突出了负载MOF的QSI作为有前途的添加剂，可增强水凝胶涂层的防污性能、防腐性能和QSI性能，以用于可持续的海洋工程应用。
