Liquid-infused superhydrophobic dendritic silver matrix: A bio-inspired strategy to prohibit biofouling on titanium

Ti finds widespread opportunities in harsh seawater environment because of unique corrosion resistance. However, one tough challenge is the biofouling problem caused by the inherent friendliness to the attachment of biological organisms. In this study, a facile electrodeposition approach affords high driving force for crystal growth, and dendritic Ag has been constructed onto Ti substrate. After being modified with dodecanethiol vapor, superhydrophobicity is realized relying on the anchored hydrophobic moieties and the voids in dendritic Ag matrix. Superoleophilicity enables oil phase to drive out air in the matrix for finally achieving slippery liquidinfused porous surface (SLIPS) with high flatness and smoothness. Diatoms and green algae are used as the typical biofouling organisms to assay antifouling behavior of Ti covered by superhydrophobic (SHP Ti) and SLIPS surface (SLIPS Ti). After immersion for 14 days, the number of diatoms and green algae on bare Ti surface respectively reaches 1.60 x 10(11) and 1.57 x 10(11) cells/cm(2). Meanwhile, for Ti covered by SLIPS, the cell density is only 6.84 x 10(7) cells/cm(2) and 5.05 x 10(7) cells/cm(2), decreasing to ca. 4 orders of magnitude smaller than that of bare Ti. For SHP Ti, its biofouling inhibition effect is lower than that of SLIPS Ti. Therefore, building SLIPS onto the surface has afforded a promising way for Ti to inhibit biofouling in seawater environment.