Production and Physicochemical Characterization of Antifouling Biocomposites; The Effect of Chitosan and ZnO to Prevent Marine Biofouling

Adhesion of biofouling organism creates various problems. Efforts to explore the source of the antifouling material from marine organisms have been carried out, but it is non-cultivable mainly; its work efficiency depends on temperature, pH, concentration, and ineffective exposure time. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new sources of antifouling material by developing antifouling biocomposites from chitosan-ZnO. This study aims to determine the effect of differences in concentration of chitosan and ZnO on biocomposite characterization. This study consisted of 3 stages, 1) characterization of chitosan and ZnO; 2) production and characterization of chitosan-ZnO biocomposite; and 3) antifouling activity testing. The results showed that chitosan was completely soluble in 2% acetic acid with a viscosity of 76.4 to 79.6%, a water content of 10.92%, ash of 1.92%, nitrogen of 3.70%, and a deacetylation level of 85%. The ZnO used in this study had a particle size of 396.1-458.7 nm. Biocomposite characteristics indicated that the best treatment was chitosan 1% -ZnO 0.6 g with 0.31% swelling, 0.18% solubility film, 104.50° hydrophobic and 4.50 MPa adhesion. The results of the anti-fouling tests showed that the treatment of chitosan 1% -ZnO 0.6 g had less biofouling than other treatments.