Antifouling surfaces for marine hydrokinetic technology

Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) devices harness the ocean's kinetic and thermal energy to produce electricity. Over 200 companies, worldwide, are developing MHK technology and they require advances in materials and coatings that withstand the ocean's corrosive and biofouling nature to become commercially viable. In order to prevent biofouling on MHK devices, we are investigating the development of novel antifouling materials and the influence of nanomaterial based coatings. The synthesis of antimicrobial (5-10 nm) copper, copper oxide, and silver nanoparticles was performed using solution precipitation routes. These particles were attached to Si based substrates through a self-assembled monolayer made from silanes. Contact angle measurements indicated the formation of hydrophobic surfaces in comparison to the uncoated substrates. Sample films were subjected to gram negative psuedomona fluorescens within a CDC reactor to determine their effectiveness in preventing biofouling. Full details on synthesis and characterization of the nanoparticles, films, and resulting biofouling experiments will be discussed. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.