Recent progress in fabrications, mechanisms and developments of photo-responsive marine antifouling coatings

The surfaces of marine engineering equipment immersed in the sea are inevitably inhabited by various marine organisms, which causes severe economic and environmental problems. Therefore, it is extremely critical to take effective measures to prevent surface biofouling. Using antifouling coatings is the most effective and promising method for their convenience and low cost compared with others. Since 17th century, marine antifouling coatings were designed to kill or repel organisms by releasing toxic metal ions, causing serious hazards to marine environment. As a result, it is of significant need to develop environmentally friendly coatings. Intelligent coatings, triggered from their surrounding environment, has garnered increasing attention due to releasing little pollutants. Among the available external stimuli such as temperature, light, pH, and others, light has excellent characteristics such as environmental protection, great controllability, and immediacy. Hence, photo-responsive coatings have become a current research hotspot. This work summarized the fabrications, mechanisms and developments of photo-responsive coatings in marine antifouling based on organic, inorganic and organic/ inorganic coatings, providing a systematic, innovative and enlightening toolkit for readers.