Mechanical factors favoring release from fouling release coatings

For some twenty years the marine coatings industry has been intrigued by polymer surfaces with low adhesion to other materials, especially to the biological glues used by marine organisms. Polymers with fouling release surfaces have been made from sundry materials, and their resistance to marine fouling in both static and dynamic tests has been evaluated in the world's oceans. Although the polymer surface property most frequently correlated with bioadhesion is its critical surface tension (gamma(c)), resistance to fouling is also influenced by other bulk and surface properties of the polymer. This paper reviews the types of bonding associated with polymeric materials used in fouling resistant coatings, describes the removal process in terms of fracture mechanics, and discusses the importance of surface energy, elastic modulus and coating thickness in the release of biofoulants.