Antifouling Effects of Superhydrophobic Coating on Sessile Marine Invertebrates

Seongjun Bae, Ye Ju Lee, Min Kyung Kim, Yeongwon Kwak, Chang-Ho Choi and Dong Gun Kim
Additional contact information
Seongjun Bae: Department of Ecology and Conservation, Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Seocheon 33662, Korea
Ye Ju Lee: Institute of Environmental Ecology, Sahmyook University, Seoul 01795, Korea
Min Kyung Kim: Department of Bio & Environment Technology, Seoul Women’s University, Seoul 01797, Korea
Yeongwon Kwak: Department of Chemical Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea
Chang-Ho Choi: Department of Chemical Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea
Dong Gun Kim: Smith College of Liberal Arts, Sahmyook University, Seoul 01795, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: Biofouling is a significant problem in the aquaculture and marine shipping industries; thus, various antifouling methods have been developed to prevent the resultant economic losses. In the present study, the superhydrophobic surface of a lotus leaf was bio-mimicked to achieve antifouling. Specifically, fabric substrates with and without superhydrophobic coatings on the surface were installed on the Tongyeong yacht in December 2020 (group A) and April 2021 (group B), and the coverage of the attached invertebrates was recorded every month until August 2021. The coverage of solitary ascidians ( Ascidiella aspersa and Ciona robusta ) and branching bryozoans ( Bugula neritina ) was lower on the coated substrates than on the non-coated ones, and coating or non-coating was significantly correlated with the extent of coverage. Superhydrophobic substrates with a low surface energy and micro–nano dual structure may be unsuitable for the attachment of larvae. Therefore, superhydrophobic coating is a more effective and simpler method of antifouling for certain taxa than other antifouling strategies. However, the antifouling effect of the superhydrophobic substrate in group A reduced after 5 months from the first installation; thus, the durability of the antifouling coating should be further improved, and solving this problem remains a major task, necessitating further research.

Keywords: marine biofouling; fabric substrate; superhydrophobic; biomimetic antifouling; Ascidiella aspersa; Bugula neritina (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7973/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7973/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:7973-:d:851600

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().