A Lionfish-Skin-Inspired Intrinsic Antifouling Coating for Full-Ocean-Depth up to 7730 Meters

As marine equipment advances from shallow to deep-sea environments, the demand for high-performance antifouling materials continues to increase. The lionfish, a species inhabiting both deep-sea and shallow coral reefs, prevents fouling organism adhesion via its smooth, mucus-covered skin, which contains antimicrobial peptides. Inspired by lionfish skin, this work integrates zwitterionic segments with hydration-based fouling-release properties and the furan oxime ester structure with intrinsic antibacterial activity to develop a silicone-based antifouling coating capable of operating from shallow to deep-sea environments. The coating exhibits excellent antifouling properties in shallow-water environments, completely inhibiting protein adhesion and reducing bacterial, algae adhesion by up to 33.23% and 85.23%, respectively. displays superior intrinsic bactericidal activity, achieving a 100% bactericidal rate. Field panel immersion tests confirmed the coating's effectiveness in preventing the adhesion of large shallow-water fouling organisms. After 51 days of immersion at a maximum depth of 7730 meters in the Mariana Trench, no live bacteria are detected on the coating surface, which remained in excellent condition and retained its full bactericidal efficacy. This antifouling coating presents a promising solution for marine equipment across full ocean depths adn expands applications in the marine industry.