A silicone coating containing natural borneol fluorinated side chains with excellent static antifouling properties

Nowadays, the development of sustainable nontoxic antifouling coatings is urgent. In this work, the isobornyl as antifouling groups and dodecfluoroheptyl were introduced into the silicone side chains to prepare the environment-friendly silicone antifouling coatings. The synergistic effect of natural borneol and dodecfluoroheptyl improved the static antifouling ability of silicone coating. The coatings exhibited good optical clarity (>92%, 400–800 nm), high adhesion (>2 MPa, steel plates) and excellent fouling release and self-cleaning ability. For example, PDMS-F-PIBO-23 coating had excellent antibacterial and antifouling activities. It's antibacterial resistance to marine bacteria (Pseudomonas sp.) reached 95.6%, which reduced the coverage area of biofilm by 86.9%, and effectively prevented the adhesion of diatoms. This remarkable antibacterial and antifouling performance was attributed to the complex molecular structure of natural non-toxic borneol and the enrichment of fluoropolymers. Field tests at Yellow Sea showed that the coating had good antifouling ability and could be used for >6 months. Most importantly, compared with traditional coatings containing toxic fungicides, the coating is less harmful to the marine ecological balance. This research provides more possibilities for marine antifouling coatings design and preparation which is expected to be applied in marine, medical and other antipollution fields.