Ag/Cu supported on SiO2-TiO2 oxides as potential antifouling systems: Characterization of chemical physical and rheological properties

Marine biofouling is receiving a widespread concern from both the scientific community and the industrial parties owing to the environmental and economic impacts of shipping on aquatic ecosystem. The need to search viable solutions to tackle marine biofouling issues allowed the development of antifouling and anticorrosion coatings associated with the design of nanocomposite materials based on biocidal agents. The use of silica and titania as solid supports for Ag and Cu has been reported in the preparation of nanomaterials with antifouling and antimicrobial features. The choice of metal supported antifouling materials is based on their tunable surface properties combined with other intrinsic parameters that strongly depend on the metal loadings and preparation method. In the present work we propose a series of antimicrobial materials based on Ag- and Cu-active species on SiO2 and TiO2. The materials were easily prepared via the wetnessimpregnation method of the metal precursors on the supports. Morphological and structural characterizations of the powder materials were performed. In parallel, coating films were prepared by mixing the above materials with a commercial polymeric matrix and deposited on metallic DH36 steel substrate for rheological properties investigation. Biological tests were carried out by monitoring the bacterial growth of Pseudoalteromonas sp., Alteromonas sp., Pseudomonas sp. through optical density (OD) measurements