poly(triméthylèneCarbonate) - development of tailorable ecofriendly antifouling coatings – CarbonaRA

The protection of immersed surfaces in the marine environment is a major economic, societal and environmental issue. All immersed surfaces undergo spontaneous biocolonisation. The consequences of this development onto surfaces are catastrophic. The main objectives of the scientific community are to develop new biocide-free antifouling coatings that meet increasingly stringent legislation and to replace traditional materials used in antifouling coatings such as PDMS with other materials that have the lowest possible environmental impact. However, understanding the physico-chemical properties that impact the adhesion of marine organisms remains a key issue in the development of new antifouling coatings. The CarbonaRA project is part of these dynamics. Biodegradable and/or biosourced polymers such as poly(trimethylene carbonate) have a low environmental impact. In addition to studying a new polymer as a matrix for antifouling coatings, the CarbonaRA project's major contribution is to induce differences in adhesion through physical properties in a decorrelated manner, with the chemical composition parameter remaining constant. It will therefore provide a better understanding of surface-microorganism interactions.
The work envisaged in the multidisciplinary CarbonaRA project is based on the development of antifouling coatings based on poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) with modulable physicochemical properties. They are divided into 4 scientific tasks with the aim of i) to synthesize PTMC copolymers with different molar masses and structures to design coatings by UV cross-linking with variable mesh sizes and cross-linking node densities, ii) to characterize the physico-chemical properties of the coatings such as viscoelastic modulus, roughness or surface tension at different scales, (iii) to evaluate the antifouling properties and efficiency of the coatings on species present in the Gulf of Morbihan at the micro and macrobiological level by laboratory studies and in situ immersions, (iv) to measure the environmental impact of the new PTMC-based coatings by biodegradation studies and life cycle analysis.
Due to the relatively new trend of biobased and/or biodegradable coatings for the marine environment, there is a huge knowledge gap in this field. The results of the project will fill the current knowledge gap and deepen the understanding of this technology. In addition, CarbonaRA will provide potential solutions to marine pollution by developing biodegradable antifouling coatings based on PTMC. The initial maturity level of the project (TRL scale) is low, but the results of the project could lead to new commercial opportunities in the marine paint market.