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Zwitterionic materials display antifouling promise, but their potential in marine anti-biofouling is still largely unexplored. This study evaluates the effectiveness of incorporating small quantities (0-20% on a molar basis) of zwitterions as sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) or carboxybetaine methacrylate (CBMA) into lauryl methacrylate-based coatings whose relatively hydrophobic nature encourages adhesion of the diatom Navicula incerta, a common microfouling organism responsible for the formation of 'slime'. This approach allows potential enhancements in antifouling afforded by zwitterion incorporation to be easily quantified. The results suggest that the incorporation of CBMA does provide a relatively minor enhancement in fouling-release performance, in contrast to SBMA which does not display any enhancement. Studies with coatings incorporating mixtures of varying ratios of the cationic monomer [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride and the anionic monomer (3-sulfopropyl)methacrylate, which offer a potentially lower cost approach to the incorporation of anionic and cationic charge, suggest these monomers impart little significant effect on biofouling.

The first practical, yet simple, preparation of aryl(alkynyl)iodonium trifluoroacetate salts is described. The generic nature of this synthetic method has allowed the production of a range of aryl(alkynyl)iodonium trifluoroacetate salts with independent variation of both the alkynyl and aryliodo groups in yields of 30–85 %. Application of these new reagents to the synthesis of a series of 2‐arylfuro[3,2‐c]pyridines (40–64 %) highlights the potential of this class of materials as precursors to bioactive heterocyclic structures. These experiments have also demonstrated that, in this case, the effect of the aryliodo group on the reaction is negligible.

Aryl(alkynyl)iodonium salts have been demonstrated to be valuable precursors to a diverse range of heteroaromatic ring systems including aryl[1,2-a]imidazopyridines. Successful application, using the recently described aryl(alkynyl)iodonium trifluoroacetate salts, is described, highlighting for the first time that the regioselectivity of this process is both counter-ion and concentration dependent. Studies with a carbon-13 labelled substrate established that the reactions of alkynyliodonium salts are highly complex and that multiple mechanistic processes appear to be underway simultaneously.

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