Antifouling paint formulations with ZnO and Fe2O3 nano-paints for marine applications

The specific objective of the work is to develop antifouling paint formulations for coating marine vessels and structures using nanoparticles as functional additives. The Preparation of nano paints was undertaken by embedding the ZnO and Fe2O3 nanoparticles in linseed alkyd resin and mixing them with soya lecithin, mineral turpentine oil, and also thickener was also added. By using these various nano paints formulations, fouling properties was reduced with increased anti-bacterial properties based on which the coatings were examined for their corrosion properties. The development of antifouling paints with nanoparticles as biocides is expected to significantly improve the efficacy of antifouling paints. The results obtained suggest that with an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles, there was an improvement in the antifouling and anti-corrosion. It was also observed that the mild steel specimens were coated with antifouling paint formulations when immersed in the seawater for 120 days for testing and the properties were observed by utilizing Scanning electron microscopy, SEM - EDX, X-ray beam Diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It found an improvement in anti-fouling showed by Fe2O3 coated specimens and an improvement utilizing ZnO when contrasted with bare paint.