Antifouling of micro-/nanostructural surfaces

Marine biofouling has become a global problem with both economic and environmental penalties. Nowadays, more and more environmental concerns drive antifouling (AF) technology towards nonbiocidal approaches; these approaches are mainly based on controlling the surface physicochemical, mechanical, and topographic properties that have significant impacts on the interactions between marine organisms and the surface. Surface topography is one key factor which can deter biofouling organisms, or facilitate fouling release (FR). The studies of AF or FR surfaces with special microtextures have gained momentum in the context of biofouling, coatings with micro-/nanostructural topographies have been designed for underwater applications. Surfaces based on special structure features and gradient patterns have been proved to have AF property, especially some biomimetic surface describes the process of using living organisms as the inspiration to control marine biofouling. Surface chemical composition is another key factor for AF/FR property; some further studies have proved that the combination of surface topography and surface chemistry may be more significant for AF and FR properties. Future developments should incorporate these multiple approaches to achieve AF and FR properties against multiple species and scales of biofouling organisms.