Hydrophobic Biodegradable Hyperbranched Copolymers with Excellent Marine Diatom Resistance

As the utilization of degradable polymer coatings increased, the accompanying trade-off between good degradability and high-efficiency antidiatom adhesion due to their hydrophobic nature remains unresolved. The study presents a new hydrophobic surface-fragmenting coating consisting of degradable hyper-branched polymers (hereafter denoted as h-LLA(x)) synthesized by reversible complexation-mediated copolymerization with isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and divinyl-functional oligomeric poly(L-lactide) (OLLA-V-2), both derived from biomass, that exhibited superior resistance (similar to 0 cell mm(-2)) to marine diatom Navicula incerta (N. incerta) attachment with higher OLLA content. The combined impact of the microscale hollow semisphere micelles that self-assembled degradable hyperbranched copolymers and hydrolysis-driven self-renewable surfaces following immersion in seawater may account for the remarkable resistance of h-LLA(x) coatings against N. incerta. Detailed investigations were conducted across multiple perspectives, from hydrolytic degradation to broad-spectrum antibacterial attachment to ecotoxicity assessment. The excellent features of high resistance to marine diatoms and bacterial attachment, degradability, and environmental friendliness make the as-prepared h-LLA(x) coatings widely sought after for antifouling coating applications.

Automated summary

The study introduces a hydrophobic surface-fragmenting coating made of degradable hyper-branched polymers, which exhibits superior resistance to diatom adhesion and has self-renewable surfaces. The coating also shows excellent antibacterial adhesion properties and environmental friendliness. Therefore, it has great potential in antifouling coating applications.