Paper MB+BI+PS-MoA10
Development of Poly(silyl urethanes) with Tethered Quaternary Ammonium Biocides as Antifouling Marine Coatings

Monday, October 31, 2011, 5:00 pm, Room 105

Due to the significant economic burden posed by high operational and maintenance costs of biofouled ships, the design of environmentally benign, antifouling marine coatings has been a significant interest for many researchers since the ban on traditional coatings was enacted. Current approaches for developing new marine coating materials have primarily focused on the preparation of low surface energy materials, such as modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and fluorinated polymers. These materials have shown great promise for reducing the adhesion strength of various fouling organisms, thus allowing hydrodynamic forces to release the foulants as the ship moves through water. Unfortunately, no existing material has been shown to eliminate adhesion of all of the numerous different fouling organisms, including zoospores, microalgae and diatomaceous species. As such, the development of marine coatings with multiple mechanisms of fouling prevention may be an important avenue of antifouling materials research. Poly(silyl urethanes) coatings have been developed via the reaction of various quaternary ammonium modified orthosilicates with polyisocyantes. Material properties including glass transition temperature, surface energy, and thermal stability have been investigated as a function of orthosilicate and polyisocyanate composition as well the inclusion or omission of low surface energy soft segments. The low surface energy of these materials should provide excellent fouling release properties, as has been seen with other PDMS-like materials, while the inclusion of bound quaternary ammonium biocides should further reduce the adhesion and propagation of fouling organisms at the material interface. Finally, the hydrolysable silyl ether crosslinking may prove to enhance the antifouling capabilities of these materials by allowing any fouled portions of the coating to slough away over time, generating a new active biocidal interface.