Functional polymer materials for modern marine biofouling control

Marine biofouling is a well-known massive problem: within the shortest time, ship hulls and other man-made submerged surfaces are inevitably populated by various marine organisms. Marine biofouling causes severe economic and environmental problems. Thus, effective biofouling control on submerged surfaces is of utmost importance. Since the middle of the 20th century, scientists and engineers have developed antifouling coatings mainly based on the continuous release of toxic metal ions and accompanying booster biocides to repel or kill organisms approaching the surface. However, these coatings caused serious harm to non-target organisms and the ocean. Therefore, the development of environmentally friendly alternative coatings is an urgent need, and research in this field is growing rapidly. This review includes concise basic theory from biology, chemistry, and physics. It provides an introduction into the biofouling formation, as well as physicochemical surface properties that can be manipulated to achieve an effective biofouling control. Furthermore, a complete overview of the currently developed biofouling control coatings is presented and summarized. This overview includes coatings based on surface wettability, self-renewable coatings, coatings containing antifouling agents, switchable coatings, and biomimetic coatings.