The leaching behavior of phenylmethylsilicone oil and antifouling performance in nano-zinc oxide reinforced phenylmethylsilicone oil–Polydimethylsiloxane blend coating

Abstract In order to figure out the influence of nano-zinc oxide (NZO) on the properties of the fouling release (FR) coating based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with the incorporation of phenylmethylsilicone oil (PSO), NZO reinforced PSO-PDMS blend coatings were prepared by adjustments to the particle size and pigment-binder ratio (P/B). The surface properties, the mechanical properties, the PSO leaching behavior and the biofilm adhesion assay of the reinforced coatings were investigated. Results indicated that with the increase of particle size and P/B value, surface roughness of the reinforced coatings increased and the mechanical properties of the reinforced coatings were enhanced. The addition of NZO caused PSO to migrate first inside the reinforced coating to form the oil storage sac, then migrate to the reinforced coating surface. Finally, PSO was leached on the reinforced coating surface. Meanwhile, the addition of NZO increased the crosslink density of the reinforced coatings, which caused the decrease of the leaching efficiency of PSO. When the P/B value was more than P/B M , PSO still could not be observed on the reinforced coating surface after 1 year of exposure. And the anti-biofilm adhesion performance of the reinforced coatings decreased due to the increase in difficulty of leaching PSO.