Cu2O-clay composites with sub-micrometer-sized Cu2O particles for marine antifouling paints

Microsized Cu 2 O particles are widely used in tin-free marine antifouling (AF) paints. Because of the enlarged specific surface area, utilization of Cu 2 O particles with smaller sizes is a potential way to improve the AF efficiency and lower the Cu 2 O content. In this paper, the clay, commonly applied as filler in the paint, was previously used to control the concentration of free Cu 2 + during the synthesis of Cu 2 O. With the help of clay, the size of obtained Cu 2 O particles decreased from 750 to 460 nm. It has been shown that the smaller-sized Cu 2 O can work against the marine biofouling with a lower content (15 wt%) compared to the commercial microsized Cu 2 O (40 wt%) in the 260 days of marine AF field tests.