Marine antifouling coating based on fluorescent-modified poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) resin

The growth of marine economy urgently needs non-toxic coatings. This study provides a novel and green coating that obtains outstanding antifouling performance by combining the low surface energy effect and the fluorescent effect. The coating was synthesized by reacting tetraphenylethylene (TPE) as the fluorescent component with poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) resin. The introduction of TPE provided the resin coating with lower surface energy and fluorescent properties, leading to improve the antifouling performance. This study indicates fluorescent TPE polymers for marine antifouling and opens new horizons for the exploitation of fluorescent antifouling coatings.