title: Marine fouling release silicone/carbon nanotube nanocomposite coatings: on the importance of the nanotube dispersion state.
abstract: The present work reports on the influence of the dispersion quality of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a silicone matrix on the marine fouling-release performance of the resulting nanocomposite coatings. A first set of coatings filled with different nanofiller contents was prepared by the dilution of a silicone/MWCNTs masterbatch within a hydrosilylation-curing polydimethylsiloxane resin. The fouling-release properties of the nanocomposite coatings were studied through laboratory assays with the marine alga (seaweed) Ulva, a common fouling species. As reported previously (see Ref. [19]), the addition of a small (0.05%) amount of carbon nanotubes substantially improves the fouling-release properties of the silicone matrix. This paper shows that this improvement is dependent on the amount of filler, with a maximum obtained with 0.1 wt% of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The method of dispersion of carbon nanotubes in the silicone matrix is also shown to significantly (p = 0.05) influence the fouling-release properties of the coatings. Dispersing 0.1% MWCNTs using the masterbatch approach yielded coatings with circa 40% improved fouling-release properties over those where MWCNTs were dispersed directly in the polymeric matrix. This improvement is directly related to the state of nanofiller dispersion within the cross-linked silicone coating.
authors.affiliation: Center of Innovation and Research in Materials & Polymers CIRMAIP, Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, University of Mons-Hainaut, Académie Universitaire Wallonie-Bruxelles, Place du Parc 20, 8-7000 Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beigbeder
authors.forename: Rosica
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mincheva
authors.forename: Michala E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Pettitt
authors.forename: Maureen E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Callow
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Callow
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dubois