Barnacle repellent nanostructured surfaces formed by the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers

Abstract

Well-defined nanostructured surface with domains of dimension ∼20 nm was formed by the self-assembly of brush-type amphiphilic block copolymers of poly[poly(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate]-block-poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) (P(PEGMA)-b-PPFS) which demonstrate promise in discouraging barnacle settlement as proven using laboratory settlement assays and marine field tests.