"Synthesis of Environmentally Friendly Nano-Marine Antifouling Paints"\

Abstract

Thisthesis focused on developing three models for silicone foul-release nanocomposites that were successfully designed, fabricated, characterized, and tailored toward foul-release coatings. Silicon polymer was synthesized and various nanofiller metal oxides and nobel metal were prepared successfully with controlled size and morphology to prepare novel nanocomposites. Fabricatedseries of elastomeric PDMS/cubic Cu2O, PDMS/spherical Ag and PDMS/TiO2nanocomposites with different nanofillerconcentrations were successfully synthesized, for the first time, as FR coatings via solution casting technique.These nanofillers and nanocomposites were characterized via different investigation techniques: spectroscopic, microscopic and thermal analysis. The antifouling property of the nanocomposites was investigated by laboratory assays involving microfoulants such as Gram positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as yeast organisms. Field test measurements were applied on the tailored design nanocomposites in the arsenal marineSuezCanal and proved to have superior antifouling properties. Keywords:Nanocomposites, antifouling properties, nanofillers, laboratory assays, field measurements.