Amphiphilic acrylic copolymers containing zwitterions: Modulation of hydrophilic unit and hydrophobic unit for antifouling

Amphiphilic polymers with surface zwitterion groups often show promising antifouling properties in marine environments. In this study, a series of amphiphilic copolymers containing zwitterion moieties (ACZ) were synthesized by the radical copolymerization of zwitterion 3-Triethylammonio-2-methacryloyloxypropane-1-sulfonate (TMS), lauryl methacrylate (LMA), methacrylic acid (MAA), and acrylic acid (AA). By regulating the amount of TMS moieties and hydrophobic LMA moieties, amphiphilic coatings with excellent antifouling properties was realized successfully. When the amounts of hydrophilic TMS and hydrophobic LMA were 5.0 mol % and 46.9 mol%, respectively, high antibacterial efficiencies of 94.8 %, 95.1 % and 95.2 % towards E. coli, S. aureus and Pseudoalteromonas, respectively, were obtained. In addition, high inhibition efficiencies towards P. tricornutum and C. vulgaris of 80.4 % and 68.4 %, respectively, could be achieved. Furthermore, the ACZ samples delivered excellent antifouling performance when immersed in a marine environment for 147 days. This study encourages the development of new amphiphilic materials for prevention of marine fouling.