Antibacterial and antifouling performance of bisphenol-A/Poly(ethylene glycol) binary epoxy coatings containing bromine-benzyl-disubstituted polyaniline

Polyaniline (PANI), benzyl-substituted polyaniline (BP) and bromine-benzyl-disubstituted polyaniline(BBP) were prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), UV–vis absorption spectra, wettability test and thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). It is noted that BBP nanoparticles has high antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative E. coil and Gram-positive B. subtilis while PANI and BP do not have obvious antibacterial activity. The bisphenol-A/Poly(ethylene glycol) binary epoxy coatings (BAE/PEGE) containing BBP were prepared using cardanol-based phenalkamine as curing agent. The prepared coatings were evaluated by wettability test, optical microscope, AFM, SEM, TGA, antibacterial and antifouling tests. The results demonstrate that the prepared coatings with PEGE and BBP exhibits improved antibacterial and antifouling performance comparing with pure bisphenol-A epoxy coating. The combination of fouling release effect of BAE, fouling resistance function of PEG and sterilization function of BBP is a promising strategy to improve the antibacterial and antifouling performance of prepared coating surfaces.