Hydrogel Antifouling Coating with Highly Adhesive Ability via Lipophilic Monomer

Abstract The poor adhesion of hydrogel antifouling materials on substrates limits their application in marine antifouling. From the perspective of practical application, a lipophilic monomer tackifying strategy is proposed, in which hydrogel coatings can be firmly adhered to substrates very simply. Hydrogel prepolymers containing lipophilic monomers are adhered to the substrate surface after crosslinking, and hydrogel coatings are obtained after drying and absorbing water. The experimental results show that the molar content of lipophilic monomers in the hydrogel reached 42% and can significantly improve its adhesion on the organic substrate. The highly adhesive ability of the hydrogel manifest as its long‐term no‐shedding ability in the experimental results of static seawater immersion panels, dynamic rotating seawater environments (80 revolutions min −1 ), and testing‐panels in real marine (150 days‐no‐shedding). A powerful supplement for understanding the direct adhesion of hydrogel coatings to the substrate is provided by this strategy. These hydrogels have a good effect on inhibiting the adhesion of proteins and microalgae and show significant antifouling performance in testing‐panels in real marine environments, with great potential for marine antifouling applications.