Synthesis and Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Micropowders for Antifouling Coatings

An effective and facile emulsion polymerization method was developed for the preparation of highly antibacterial hydrogel. In this study, polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) was successfully cross-linked with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to form hydrogel micropowders with exceptional antibacterial properties. Subsequently, to improve the mechanical properties of the hydrogel, the hydrogel micropowders cross-linked with the antibacterial agent were combined with epoxy resin and coated onto stainless steel plates to form composite coatings. FT-IR spectroscopy was used to analyze the composition of the samples, confirming the successful reaction between PVA and PHMG. Bacterial inhibition assays demonstrated that the product exhibited an inhibition rate exceeding 99.99% against both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) when the PHMG content exceeded 2.0 wt%. The anti-protein adsorption and algae resistance tests confirm the good antifouling performance of the coatings. These results highlight the potential of this material for marine antifouling applications.