Frog-skin- and mussel-inspired hierarchical silicone coatings with self-renewing hydration for durable marine antifouling and anticorrosion

Self-renewing hydration interfaces are engineered via bioinspired hierarchical silicone coatings (PIS-MH x ). • Dynamic chitosan–catechol networks and microstructured surfaces enable sustained lubrication and interfacial stability. • Strong interfacial adhesion and up to ∼85% suppression of corrosion propagation are achieved. • Near-complete inhibition of mussel, barnacle, and tubeworm attachment is demonstrated in long-term marine tests. Marine biofouling and corrosion severely compromise the long-term reliability of ships and submerged infrastructures. Conventional silicone coatings, limited by static interfacial properties and weak adhesion, are prone to biofouling during prolonged marine exposure, as well as crevice corrosion and expansion caused by interfacial debonding. Here, a bioinspired silicone-hydrogel coating is proposed that synergistically integrates frog-skin-like hydrated microtextures with mussel-inspired, catechol-mediated adhesion to enable robust, multiscale interfacial regulation. Upon seawater immersion, the hydrogel component establishes a stable bound-water layer and enables pH-responsive, on-demand release of antifouling ions. Meanwhile, hierarchical micro-wrinkled architectures reduce effective adhesion sites, stabilize interfacial hydration layer, and promote localized enrichment of antifouling ions, thereby enhancing surface performance. The catechol-coordinated interface improves adhesion strength of the coating, efficiently suppressing corrosive ions permeation, and reducing corrosion-diffusion areas by approximately 85%. Density functional theory calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and confocal laser scanning microscope results further reveal the formation of a dynamic and self-renewable hydration layer under continuous immersion. Field deployment for nearly five months demonstrates near-complete inhibition of barnacles and tubeworms attachment (∼100%). This dual-channel strategy, combining microstructural modulation with adaptive chemical adhesion, overcomes two critical issues of antifouling and interface stability of silicone coatings, offering an effective solution for durable antifouling and corrosion protection of marine infrastructure. A bioinspired silicone–hydrogel coating (PIS-MH x ) integrates frog-skin hydration microtextures and mussel-inspired catechol adhesion to construct a multiscale coupled interface. The coating establishes a stable hydration layer, suppresses corrosion diffusion by up to ∼85%, and achieves excellent antifouling over five months of marine field immersion, providing an effective solution for durable antifouling and anticorrosion protection of marine infrastructure. Frog-skin- and mussel-inspired hierarchical silicone coatings with self-renewing hydration for durable marine antifouling and anticorrosion Download: Download high-res image (318KB) Download: Download full-size image .