Marine structures such as ship hulls, fish farms and subsea infrastructure are subject to unwanted accumulation of materials such as micro- and macro-organisms, mussels and small animals. In order to prevent this, protective coatings have been deployed to prevent adsorption by various strategies. Historically, the use of toxic biocides such as tributyltin and copper-based materials have been prevalent for marine fouling prevention. However, concerns of their toxicity towards non-target species have led to an increase in the research of alternative methods of biofouling prevention.

Graphene based nanomaterials have shown excellent bacterial cytotoxicity, and the incorporation of these into polymer-based coatings as antifouling additives could promise great antifouling results, while simultaneously reducing the leaching of toxic additives in the marine environment.

For the purpose of this, a preliminary study of epoxy nanocomposite coatings with addition of graphene or graphene oxide has been done. The antifouling properties of these model coatings have been tested by exposure to a diatom algae culture in laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the effect that these additives have on the thermomechanical properties of the systems has been investigated.

The epoxy-based nanocomposite coatings with graphene and graphene oxide have shown excellent antifouling capabilities, and they show promise as a potential substitute to the currently available industrial antifouling coatings.