Transparent nanowire architectures for marine anti-fouling

Abstract

A rational design and fabrication of ZnO/Al2O3 core-shell nanowire architectures with tunable geometries (length, spacing, branching) and surface chemistry is provided. The fabricated nanowires significantly delay or even prevent marine biofouling. In some embodiments, hydrophilic nanowires can reduce the fouling coverage by up to approximately 60% after 20 days compared to planar control surfaces. The mechanism of the fouling reduction is mainly due to two geometric effects: reduced effective settlement area and mechanical cell penetration. Further, superhydrophobic nanowires can completely prevent marine algal fouling for up to 22 days. Additionally, the developed nanowire surfaces are transparent across the visible spectrum, making them applicable to windows and oceanographic sensors.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.