A marine coating: Self-healing, stable release of Cu²⁺, anti-biofouling

We developed a marine coating consisting of Cu-MOF-74, multi-walled carbon nanotube containing carboxyl groups (MWCNT-COOH) and self-healing polymers, which simultaneously possesses self-healing and anti-biofouling properties. Cu-MOF-74 can stably release Cu²⁺ by virtue of the coordination dissociative mechanism. Studies have proved that MWCNT can inhibit the growth of bacteria, so adding the MWCNT can help to reduce the amount of the copper ions and ensure the antibacterial effect of the coating. In addition, the cross-linked network and abundant -COOH provided by the polymers and MWCNT-COOH further prevent the loss of copper ions. Moreover, the coating we prepared has good performance of self-healing at room temperature or slightly heated because the polymers possess abundant non-covalent hydrogen bonds. Finally, the coating not only has superior antibacterial property, but also effectively prevents the adhesion of macrofouling organism. Therefore, the coating has a longer service life and its environmental friendliness has also been improved.