Promoting the antifouling effect of cuprous oxide

Biofouling by microalgae and other organism is a harmful phenomenon shared among all floating and subwater facilities. Using the antifouling coatings is the major measure to reduce the adhesion. A new study portrays a kind of composite coating made of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O), biochar and styrene-acrylic (SA) resin. Spirulina platensis was used to prepare the biochar by pyrolysis, then different amounts of Cu₂O particles were loaded on the biochar by chemical liquid deposition.

Antifouling efficiencies increased

Adhesion experiments with microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis oceanica showed that the antifouling efficiencies increased 49.1%, 30.3% for the Cu₂O loaded SA coatings (0.05 wt%), and 93.0%, 92.8% for the Cu₂O-biochar-SA composite coatings respectively. The synergistic effect of the biocide of copper ions and the photocatalysis of Cu₂O improved by compositing with biochar contribute to the promotion of the antifouling performance.

The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 168, July 2022.

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