Physiochemical Control of Composition and Location for Fundamental Studies of Biofouling Resistant, High Fouling Release Surfaces

Ideal marine antifouling/fouling release surface coatings should be non-leaching and nontoxic, while effectively resisting the attachment of marine organisms or easily releasing them postattachment. This program aims to fundamentally understand the spatial and temporal chemistry and physics required for new polymer-based antifouling surfaces, based on dynamic structures which respond to their chemical environment. Our work focuses on preparing and testing polymers brush surfaces with amphiphilic structures. In this report, we summarize a pattern formation approach, based on surface-grown copolymer brushes with new chemical compositions, allows us to determine and test the effect of new chemical and topological pattern length scales on the adhesion of marine organisms. In the past year, we have engineered a novel approach for complex surface functionalization with polymer brushes. This was spawned by previous research which showed significant alteration of surface properties upon immersion in water for our previous diblock copolymer patterning approach (see previous ONR report). Using this new approach, we combined and characterized different chemistries in close proximity to one another with high spatial resolution. These surfaces have been synthesized and characterized with multiple techniques, including surface analytical methods such as imaging X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), as well as surface tensiometry. These physical methods, help us understand the nature of the coating surface and how antifouling behavior develops. Technical Objectives