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In this study, an acrylate-MQ silicone copolymer (A-MQ) was synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, and differential scanning calorimetry. Next, fouling release coatings based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were prepared by incorporating A-MQ. Self-stratified coatings were prepared by controlling the additive amount of A-MQ. Surface property analysis results showed that the appropriate A-MQ additive amount ensured surface smoothness and hydrophobicity in the prepared coatings (P/A-MQ18). Incorporating A-MQ enhanced the mechanical properties of the coatings. Moreover, the shore hardness values of the surface and interface were different, indicating stratification. Observing the fracture microstructures further confirmed the formation of self-stratified structures owing to the enrichment of the surface layer by PDMS during the curing process. More importantly, a high additive amount of A-MQ led to further phase separation with the appearance of “sea–island structures” in the prepared coatings, and this deteriorated the mechanical properties of the coatings (P/A-MQ20). The pull-off test results indicated that the self-stratified coating broke from the upper layer enriched with PDMS, indicating high adhesion strength. The biofilm adhesion assay confirmed the excellent antifouling performance of the self-stratified coating, which also resulted from the enrichment of the upper layer by PDMS. These findings can be extremely useful for developing high-performance fouling release coatings.

Marine biofouling can be better governed by using super-hydrophobic and lubricant leaching behavior. It was prepared for a long time super-hydrophobic fouling release coating with the incorporation of phenylmethylsilicone oil as lubricant. With the reasonable control of the mass ratio of mixed nano-particles (hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotube and nano-magnetite), prepared reinforced coating has excellent super-hydrophobicity and lubricant leaching efficiency. Comparable studies with reported FR coating and commercial silicone coating, it exhibits excellent anti-biofilm adhesion performance with up to 98 % of biofilm adhesion removal rate. More beneficial, the isolation layer composed of the leached phenylmethylsilicone oil can make a good buffer effect for the reinforced coating surface, alleviating the deformation or damage caused by the friction between sand and the reinforced coating surface, effectively. This work is establishing new investments in environment-friendly fouling release coatings.