Abstract:

Any marine structures such as ship hulls, jetties and platforms are subject to diverse and severe biofouling, which restricts their applications and results in a tremendous expense. Applying an antifouling coating on the surface has been widely used, nontoxic fouling release coatings have become the focus of current researches. This paper mainly reviews bioadhesion mechanism and surface engineering for antifouling coatings. Firstly, bioadhesion process and the forces of bioadhesion at interface were analyzed, then some main surface engineering techniques such as surface energy, elastic modulus, surface chemistry, topography, color and so on that influence antifouling effects were discussed, some problems existed in application were also addressed.

Key words: marine biofouling, adhesion mechanism, surface engneering, antifouling