Designing a transparent organogel layer with self-repairing property for the inhibition of marine biofouling

The presence of a biofilm on an optical window of a sensor is one of the main threats to the continued successful operation of marine sensors. A self-repairable and transparent organogel layer (OG) was designed by swelling cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with the nontoxic n-alkanes to restrict the biofilm attachment. Compared with the traditional slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces in the marine biofouling inhibition, the as-prepared OG has a self-repairing property and can maintain high underwater transmittance. Its self-repairing property was verified by the optical microscope images of releasing n-alkanes. Meanwhile, the potential of OG to inhibit biofilm formation was verified by a bacterial settlement experiment in a stimulated marine environment. Compared with the bare glassBG and PDMS, the as-prepared OG can efficiently inhibit the bacterial attachment and maintain high underwater transmittance under the static and dynamic conditions. The effect of the chain length of n-alkanes on bacterial inhibition was also studied, and results showed that the OG with n-alkanes of shorter chain exhibited better performance in bacterial inhibition. This study demonstrates that the as-prepared OG has the potential to protect the marine optical sensor from biofouling.