Surface modifying amphiphilic additives and their effect on the fouling-release performance of siloxane-polyurethane coatings

In this work, surface-modifying amphiphilic additives (SMAAs) were synthesized via hydrosilylation using various polymethylhydrosiloxanes (PMHS) and allyl-terminated polyethylene glycol monomethyl ethers (APEG) of varying molecular weights. The incorporated into a hydrophobic, self-stratifying siloxane-polyurethane (SiPU) coating system to produce an surface. Contact angle experiments atomic force microscopy (AFM), in dry hydrated state, performed assess changes surface wettability morphology. antifouling fouling-release (AF/FR) performances evaluated by performing laboratory biological assays the marine bacterium Cellulophaga lytica, microalga Navicula incerta, macroalga Ulva linza, barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite, mussel, Geukensia demissa. Several formulations showed improved AF/FR performance vs base SiPU better than some commercial standard coatings. Formulations containing SMAAs with low grafting density relatively high weight PEG chains best overall.