Research by our laboratory has focused on using polymer based coatings as anti-biofouling materials for marine surfaces. Previous studies have used the co-deposition of hyperbranched fluoropolymers (HBFP) and poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEG) to provide surfaces with interesting topologies, topographies, and morphologies which presented nanoscopic roughness's to prevent microorganism adhesion.  This current study aims to improve on the anti-biofouling performance, processing efficiency and longevity of the coatings.  Linear fluoropolymers (LFP) containing pendant alkene sites were synthesized for use in photo-initiated, thiol-ene chemistry to form crosslinked networks with thiol-containing, commercially available crosslinkers.  These coatings were shown to covalently attach to alkene-modified microscope slides to improve the longevity of the coatings for biofouling assays.  A series of coatings, generated by varying the crosslinker and stoichiometries, was studied to determine surface hydrophobicity and topography to identify potential anti-biofouling candidates.  This talk will discuss the development and characterization of LFP-PEG coatings used in anti-biofouling applications.

Amphiphilic fluoropolymer networks as anti-biofouling coatings through photo-initiated, thiol-ene chemistry

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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