Fabrication of Frog‐Skin‐Inspired Slippery Antibiofouling Coatings Through Degradable Block Copolymer Wrinkling

Abstract

Marine biofouling is a severe problem with a wide-reaching impact on ship maintenance, the economy, and ecosystem safety, among others. Inspired by complex multifunctional frogskins, wrinkled slippery coatings are created that exhibit remarkable antifouling, anti-icing, and self-cleaning properties through a combination of degradable di-block copolymer self-assembly [i.e., polystyrene-b-polylactide (PS-b-PLA)] and hydrolysis-driven dynamic release-induced surface wrinkling. Microwrinkled patterns can generate curved surfaces that are resistant to biofouling. Gyroid-forming PS-b-PLA can be used to produce nanoporous templates with cocontinuous nanochannels, which generate strong capillary forces for trapping and storing infiltrated lubricants. In this study, block-copolymer-derived hierarchically wrinkled slippery liquid-infused nanoporous surfaces (i.e., micro wrinkles with nanochannels infused with slippery fluids) are successfully fabricated after silicone oil infiltration. The antibiofouling performance of these surfaces is examined against different foulers under various conditions. The produced coatings exhibited flexible, stable, transparent, and easily tunable antibiofouling characteristics. In particular, the formation of an eco-friendly silicon-based lubricant layer without the use of fluorinated compounds and costly material precursors is an advantage in industrial practice that can be adopted in various applications, such as fuel transport, self-cleaning windows, anticorrosion protection, nontoxic coatings for medical devices, and optical instruments.

Replica of Bionic Nepenthes Peristome-like and Anti-Fouling Structures for Self-Driving Water and Raman-Enhancing Detection

“…With the proper utilization of this technology, we can achieve low resource and energy consumption while obtaining optimal production capacity and benefits. For example, aircraft coatings based on shark skin resistance [6,[14][15][16], radar sonar based on bats [17], solar applications inspired by photosynthesis, bullet train heads based on kingfisher beaks [18,19], antifouling coatings based on frog skins [20], etc. Biomaterials have also been widely applied in SERS substrates due to their 3D periodic microstructures, such as butterfly wings, cicada wings, and rose petals [21][22][23].…”

Bilayer Lubricant‐Infused Particulate Films as Slippery Protective Coatings with Durable Anticorrosion and Antifouling Performance

“…Ultrasonic vibration was performed for 2 min in deionized water to detach the algae attached to the substrate; subsequently, 20 µL of algae suspension was added to the hemocytometer. The numbers of algae cells in the four corner squares were counted, and the total number of algae cells in the suspension was determined using the following expression: [48] Total algae cells Average number of algae cells counted using the hemocytometer (2.5 10 ) dilution volume mL 5…”

“…The mechanical stability of the particulate coatings was evaluated through 1) a water impingement test with a stream flow and water jet, 2) vigorous rubbing with 300-grit sandpaper along a 5-cm length, and 3) resonance in an ultrasonic bath for 30 min. [48] For icephobicity performance tests, testing samples were immersed in liquid nitrogen for 1 min for simulation of a freezing environment. After that, the testing samples were sprayed by abundant water mist immediately and continuously at room temperature so that frost and ice condensed on the frozen sample surface.…”

Fog Harvesting Devices Inspired from Single to Multiple Creatures: Current Progress and Future Perspective

“…[93][94][95][96] Inspired by the Nepenthes alata, slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) may be a reliable choice to replace the SHB or SHL surface. [97] Compared to SHB and SHL composite surfaces, SLIPSs exhibited excellent fog capture and transport efficiency owing to the greater thermal conductivity and lower contact angle hysteresis. Based on the above-mentioned strategy, a great amount of SLIPSs was constructed for efficient fog harvesting.…”