Short communication
Preparation of ZnO nanopaint for marine antifouling applications

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2015.04.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Nanomaterials open up tremendous opportunities in the development of commercial products for house-hold to industrial applications. In this article, we are reporting the development of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanopaints for the prevention of marine biofouling. The ZnO nanoparticles prepared by mechanical milling method are used as a pigment in the paint formulation with alkyd resin binder. The prepared ZnO nanopaint is characterized using X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis. The in situ marine antifouling tests confirmed the anti-fouling properties of ZnO nanopaint surfaces. These results ensure that ZnO nanopaint can create new insights into the maritime industry.

Introduction

Nanoscience and nanotechnology opens up new opportunities toward the development of new products with exceptional properties [1]. Marine biofouling is one of the major problems faced by the global industries and several researchers have focused on developing novel paints or coatings for the preventing fouling of organisms [2]. Marine biofouling leads to several problems such as increasing marine pollution, bacterial transmission, increasing fuel energy for ships, and decreasing the performance of wind turbines in sea [3]. Antifouling coatings are used for the prevention of biofouling on the surfaces of coatings with the use of biocides. Even though biocide based coatings show promising antifouling effects, due to the toxic nature of certain biocides (such as tributylin (TBT) and copper) they lead to marine pollution [4]. In order to solve this issue, researchers focused on the development of biocide free antifouling paints due to their huge impact on the environment.

In this regard, the use of nanomaterials in paint has been created increasing attention in the recent years [5]. In general, paints are a class of fluid like materials used for decoration, and prevention of any surfaces where they are applied. A paint formulation contains two major constituents such as pigment (color providing agent) and binder (film forming agent) [6]. Several nanomaterials are used a pigment as well as functional additives in paint formulations. Nano silver vanadate is used as an additive in paints for antibacterial surface coating applications [1]. Nano vanadium pentoxide is studied as an additive in paint for prevention of marine biofouling on its surfaces [7]. Our earlier studies reported the use of graphene oxide and MoO3 nanostructures as a pigment in paints for functional applications [8], [9]. The selection of nanomaterials for paint is important for achieving desired properties. The current focus in this study is to develop nanopaint for the prevention or inhibitions of biofouling in marine environment. In this regards, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a well known semiconducting material with wide band gap of about 3.36 eV and possess wide range of applications such as photocatalysis, optoelectronics, piezoelectric nanogenerators, and medicine [10], [11]. Moreover, nano ZnO is one of the inorganic materials with exceptional antibacterial property [12]. In this study, we developed nanopaint by incorporating ZnO nanoparticles in alkyd resin matrix for anti-biofouling applications. The choice of ZnO is due to its extra-ordinary antibacterial properties and it is already used as an anti-fading agent in paints.

Section snippets

Materials

Alkyd resin has been obtained from Dae Ryung Enterprise Co., Ltd., South Korea. The other additives such as aluminum stearate, cobalt napthenate and poly vinyl alcohol are purchased from Sigma–Aldrich, South Korea. The solvent toluene was obtained from Dae Jung chemicals Ltd., South Korea. The nanosized zirconia used in the preparation of paint has been synthesized according to our earlier report [13]. The commercial zinc oxide nanoparticles (micron size) have been obtained from High Purity

Results and discussion

The X-ray diffraction pattern of the ZnO nanoparticles is shown in Fig. 1, which shows the presence of ZnO with zincite phase has been achieved by ball milling method. The peaks at 2θ = 31.77, 34.42, 36.25, 47.54, 56.59, 62.85, 66.32, 67.95, 69.02, and 72.79 degrees were assigned to the (1 0 0), (0 0 2), (1 0 1), (1 0 2), (1 1 0), (1 0 3), (2 0 0), (1 1 2), (2 0 1), and (0 0 4) reflection lines of hexagonal zincite ZnO particles, respectively [15]. They were in accordance with the standard hexagonal zincite phase of

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have prepared a biocide free anti-fouling paint using ZnO nanoparticles and alkyd resin binder with non-toxic additives. Considering the global impact on the effects of marine biofouling, the key findings of this work suggested that the ZnO nanopaint can create new horizons in the maritime industries and might find its potential applications for coating as bottom paints, dams, reservoirs and wind turbines.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (2013R1A2A2A01068926, 2013R1A1A2064471), and by the Sea Grant College Program 2015 Jeju funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), Korea. This work was supported by Graduate School of Specialized Wind Energy the Human Resources Development (No. 20094020200020) of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government

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    These authors contributed equally to the work.

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