Sebacic and succinic acid derived plasticised PVC for the inhibition of biofouling in its initial stages

In this work, we report the use of plasticized poly vinylchloride (PVC) as a potential antifouling coating material. The materials contain a variety of sebacic and succinic acid-derived plasticisers providing a variation in molecular shape and structure; diethyl succinate (DESn), di-(2-ethylhexyl sebacate) (DEHS), dibutyl sebacate (DBS), and diethyl sebacate (DES). Each plasticiser from the sebacate group possessed the same basic C10H16O4 moiety with varied dialkyl terminated groups, affording a different range of homologous series plasticisers. This work investigates whether branching of the side substituted alkyl chains on each plasticiser molecule affects microorganism attachment and subsequent fouling.

The plasticized polymers are spin coated to create thin films for testing. In order to determine the antifouling capacity of the materials, the polymer coatings underwent a series of analyses for biomass determination, glycocalyx production, and protein and carbohydrate adsorption. Topological and morphological characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

After a 7 day laboratory biofouling study it was found that the plasticisers with increased alkyl branching, DESN, and DEHS revealed the greatest degree of prevention of microorganism colonization and attachment thus significantly reducing the initial formation of biofilms by up to 65% in some biofouling assays when compared to the uPVC blank.