In Situ Synthesis of Graphene@cuprous Oxide Nanocomposite Incorporated Marine Antifouling Coating with Elevated Antifouling Performance

In this paper, graphene@cuprous oxide (rGO@Cu2O) nanocomposite was designed and prepared with graphene oxide, CuSO4, NaOH and L-ascorbic acid via an in-situ reaction process, and the as-prepared rGO@Cu2O nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, SEM-EDS and TEM. The results reveal that the rGO@Cu2O nanocomposite is of homogeneous distribution, and the Cu2O nanoparticles adsorbed on graphene sheets are with a fairly uniform size of 2.3 nm. The rGO@Cu2O/acrylic resin self-polishing marine antifouling paint with functional surfaces was also prepared in this work, and a series of measurements were carried out for the obtained product. The WCAs of paint is up to 113°, and the adhesive force is averaged to 3.69 MPa. After being immersed into seawater, the whole bared panels show an abundant growth of marine organisms within 90 days, but the rGO@Cu2O paint coated surfaces are hardly fouled by marine organisms within 365 days. This work demonstrates that in situ synthesis of rGO@Cu2O is a tin-free potential alternative to inhibit biofouling.