posted on 2024-02-05, 12:04authored byInho Kim, Sung Min Kang
Water
molecules can bind to zwitterionic polymers, such as carboxybetaine
and sulfobetaine, forming strong hydration layers along the polymer
chains. Such hydration layers act as a barrier to impede the attachment
of marine fouling organisms; therefore, zwitterionic polymer coatings
have been of considerable interest as marine antifouling coatings.
However, recent studies have shown that severe adsorption of marine
sediments occurs on zwitterionic-polymer-coated surfaces, resulting
in the degradation of their marine antifouling performance. Therefore,
a novel approach for forming amphiphilic zwitterionic polymers using
zwitterionic and hydrophobic monomers is being investigated to simultaneously
inhibit both sediment adsorption and marine fouling. In this study,
amphiphilic zwitterionic thin polymer brushes composed of sulfobetaine
methacrylate (SBMA) and trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) were synthesized
on Si/SiO2 surfaces via surface-initiated atom transfer
radical polymerization. For this, a facile metal-ion-mediated method
was developed for immobilizing polymerization initiators on solid
substrates to subsequently form poly(SBMA-co-TFEMA)
brushes on the initiator-coated substrate surface. Poly(SBMA-co-TFEMA) brushes with various SBMA/TFEMA ratios were prepared
to determine the composition at which both marine diatom adhesion
and sediment adsorption can be prevented effectively. The results
indicate that poly(SBMA-co-TFEMA) brushes prepared
with an SBMA/TFEMA ratio of 3:7 effectively inhibit both sediment
adsorption and marine diatom adhesion, thereby exhibiting balanced
marine antifouling properties. Thus, the findings of this study provide
important insights into the design of amphiphilic marine antifouling
materials.