Fouling Release Property of Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Polyurea with Improved Adhesion to Substrate

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based coatings are environment-friendly systems for marine fouling release. However, they usually exhibit low adhesion to substrate and poor mechanical properties, which limits their applications. We have developed polyurea (PUa) with PDMS as soft segments and 1,6-hexanediamine as hard segments via a polycondensation reaction. Such polyurea (PDMS-PUa-x) is hydrophobic with water contact angle above 90° and has low surface energy (25–29 mJ·m–2). In particular, its adhesion to the substrate (>1.0 MPa) and modulus (>80.0 MPa) are significantly improved in comparison with those of PDMS coatings. Laboratory bioassay and marine field tests demonstrate that PDMS-PUa-x has good fouling release performance.