Complementary effects of nanosilver and superhydrophobic coatings on the prevention of marine bacterial adhesion

A superhydrophobic coating composed of silver nanoparticles enclosed in multilayered polyelectrolyte films was deposited onto copper with the aim of preventing bacterial adhesion. Observations from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the amplified exponential growth of the multilayers could induce distinguishable, hierarchical micro- and nanostructures simultaneously. This growth caused the surface roughness to amplify in a lotus-leaf-like manner. UV/visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of well-dispersed Ag(0) nanoparticles (with sizes from 4-6 nm) in the films. SEM and fluorescence microscope images of the exposed surfaces revealed that the pattern of adhesion and the density of bacterial cells differed depending on the surface energy and the number of Ag(+) ions released during the various immersion time periods. The complementary effects of nanosilver and superhydrophobic coatings can help to effectively reduce bacterial adhesion and the formation of biofilms.