Design and testing of smart antifouling materials: beyond biocidal approaches

智能防污材料的设计和测试：超越杀菌方法

• 批准号: 2824991
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2824991
• 关键词: Design; testing; smart; antifouling; materials

The fouling of surfaces in contact with liquids and in particular biofouling creates important and costly problems, for example to buildings and to the hull of ships. In the shipping industry alone, the problem of bio-fouling costs more than £4 billion every year. Aside from the issue of costs, it is responsible for significant pollution due to excess fuel being used. Antifoulings are therefore critical to make ships more efficient. Most current antifouling strategies rely on the progressive release of biocidal chemicals. While effective at preventing fouling, this creates a separate environmental problem with measurable depletion of certain organisms in dense water ways. One possible way forward is to develop new surfaces able to control the behaviour of water and fouling organisms at the nanoscale, potentially preventing the conditioning for fouling and the need for biocidals. This project aims to exploits recent advances in atomic force microscopy to gain new, molecular-level insights into the interface between coatings and liquids containing fouling agents, focusing on (i) local liquid dynamics, (ii) details of the fouling adhesion and (iii) the ageing of the surface. Some topic of research could include: - Nanoscale mapping of the hydrophobicity/philicity of the surface when immersed in different relevant conditions (Fig. 1),- Local liquid shear dynamics at the surface of coatings, - Quantification of the adhesion of fouling agents at different location of surfaces of interest, including variation over time,- Quantification of the adhesion of single, whole living organisms (e.g. unicellulars) on coatings,- Effect of ageing on the surface properties at the nano and macro scale.The project will help develop in-situ nanoscale understanding of well-established anti-fouling strategies, map their function with molecular precision and identify strength and weaknesses. This should provide unprecedented insights into fouling process and identify any scale-dependent effect. Results will help design better coating that can also exploit liquid flow and bio-adhesion at all scales simultaneously. Aside from contributing directly to the development of novel, more ecological products for AkzoNobel (impact beyond academia), the strategy and goals are in themselves highly ethical and in line with Responsible Innovation. A success would help reduce carbon emissions, global fuel consumption all while helping to better preserve marine life.

与液体接触的表面的污垢，特别是生物污垢，例如对建筑物和船体产生重要且代价高昂的问题。仅在航运业，生物污损问题每年造成的损失就超过 40 亿英镑。除了成本问题外，由于使用过多的燃料，它还造成严重污染。因此，防污剂对于提高船舶效率至关重要。目前大多数防污策略依赖于杀菌化学品的逐步释放。虽然可以有效防止结垢，但这会造成一个单独的环境问题，即密集水道中某些生物体的明显消耗。一种可能的前进方向是开发能够在纳米尺度上控制水和污垢生物行为的新表面，从而有可能防止污垢的调节和杀菌剂的需要。该项目旨在利用原子力显微镜的最新进展，获得对涂层和含有污垢剂的液体之间界面的新的分子水平见解，重点关注（i）局部液体动力学，（ii）污垢粘附的细节和（iii）表面的老化。一些研究主题可以包括： - 浸入不同相关条件时表面疏水性/亲和性的纳米级绘图（图 1）， - 涂层表面的局部液体剪切动力学， - 量化污垢剂在感兴趣表面不同位置的粘附力，包括随时间的变化， - 量化单个完整活生物体（例如单细胞）在涂层上的粘附力，- 老化对纳米和宏观尺度上表面特性的影响。该项目将有助于在纳米尺度上对成熟的防污策略进行原位理解，以分子精度绘制其功能，并确定其优点和缺点。这将为污垢过程提供前所未有的见解，并识别任何与规模相关的影响。结果将有助于设计更好的涂层，该涂层还可以同时利用所有尺度的液体流动和生物粘附。除了直接为阿克苏诺贝尔开发新颖、更生态的产品做出贡献（影响超越学术界）之外，该战略和目标本身具有高度道德性并符合负责任的创新。成功将有助于减少碳排放和全球燃料消耗，同时有助于更好地保护海洋生物。