Phosphonium Ionic Liquid-Infused Poly(vinyl chloride) Surfaces Possessing Potent Antifouling Properties

Microbial fouling is a costly issue, which impacts a wide range of industries, such as healthcare, food processing, and construction industries, and improved strategies to reduce the impact of fouling are urgently required. Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) have recently been developed as a bioinspired approach to prevent antifouling. Here, we report the development of slippery, superhydrophilic surfaces by infusing roughened poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) substrates with phosphonium ionic liquids (PILs). These surfaces were capable of reducing viable bacterial adherence by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by >6 log₁₀ cfu mL^-1 after 24 h under static conditions relative to control PVC. Furthermore, we report the potential of a series of asymmetric quaternary alkyl PILs with varying alkyl chain lengths (C₄-C₁₈) and counteranions to act as antimicrobial agents against both Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacteria and illustrate their potential as antimicrobial alternatives to traditional fluorinated lubricants commonly used in the synthesis of SLIPSs.