Enhanced antifouling performance with a synergistic effect of self-renewal antifouling and contact bacteriostasis via the ionic exchange

It is extremely difficult for traditional coatings for antifouling constructed around a single antifouling strategy to adapting to the demands of complex marine environment. Herein, a poly-ionic liquid-based germicidal polyacrylate-3 coating (AFC-3) was prepared via free radical photo-copolymerization using isooctyl acrylate (2-EHA), butyl acrylate (BA) and ionic liquid monomer (IL-PF6) as monomers. Besides the contact bacteriostasis mechanisms, the introduction of IL-PF6 achieved the switch between self-renewal and hydrophilic surface by the exchange of PF6− and Cl− in artificial seawater. Regarding E. coli and S. aureus, the AFC-3 coating showed anti-bacterial efficiency of 100 % and 99.96 %, respectively. Moreover, with the continuous ionic exchange between PF6− and Cl−, the angle towards the water contact (WAC) of the coating became 11.356 °C, contributing to the enhancement of anti-protein property on the surface of the coating. The AFC-3 coating thus exhibited significantly effective antifouling performances, and is a highly promising coating for a broader range of marine anti-fouling and biomedical materials. Besides, the transmittance of the coating was above 92 % between 400 and 800 cm−1, conferring it great potentials for applications on the surface of optical devices like underwater cameras.