Fouling Dynamics of Plates with Coatings Containing Nanoparticles

Abstract

Communities of microfouling agents on polymethylacrylate plates (control) coated with antifouling enamel Bioplast-52 and experimental compositions containing ZnO–FeZnO, CuO–FeCuO, ZnTi₂O₄–ZnO, ZnTi₂O₄–TiO₂, and Ag–TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) are studied in the coastal water area of Sevastopol (Black Sea) in the period from August 30, 2022 to September 19, 2022. Sampling was carried out on days 3, 13, and 20. A comparative analysis of communities of microfouling formed on the studied coatings is carried out. A total of 72 taxa of organisms of different systematic groups are found on the surfaces: bacteria, fungi (33), and algae (38). The number of taxa on the coatings varied from 34 (Bioplast-52) to 49 (NP ZnTi₂O₄–TiO₂). According to the time of exposure, the number of taxa in the communities varied from 43 (3rd day) to 55 (20th day). The ratio of the final fouling biomass to the biomass formed on the 3rd day of exposure ranged from factors of 1.6 (ZnO–FeZnO NPs) to 24 (Ag–TiO₂ NPs). The index of the antifouling efficiency of the coatings (I_ef, %) was calculated. The best test result was obtained for a coating consisting of ZnTi₂O₄–ZnO NPs (I_ef = 63.78%). In the early autumn period, in the coastal zone of Sevastopol, compositions with CuO–FeCuO and Ag–TiO₂ NPs (efficiency indices of –36.01 and –43.18%) showed themselves to be unpromising.