Marine biofouling poses many hazards to human activities. The introduction of zwitterionic agents as green and sustainable antibacterial agents into antifouling coatings exhibits excellent performance. In this work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and deacetylated chitin nanofibers (DECHNs) were cross-linked through electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic SiO₂ was used as the coating curing agent to prepare CNC/DECHN@SiO₂ zwitterionic marine antifouling coatings. The results showed that when the proportion of CNCs components was 50%, the coating exhibited a 93% antibacterial rate and an 88% antialgae rate. In actual marine environment testing, the comprehensive resistance to marine biofouling reached 93% within 60 days. Our research introduces two natural components with opposite charges to construct zwitterionic complexes, innovatively applying them directly as antifouling agents in coatings. This work not only provides a solution for replacing toxic antifouling agents but also offers new ideas for using zwitterionic polymers directly as antifouling agents.

中文翻译：

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两性离子纤维素纳米晶/脱乙酰甲壳素纳米纤维结合 SiO2 杂化涂料：一种创新的海洋防污方法


海洋生物污垢对人类活动构成许多危害。将两性离子剂作为绿色和可持续的抗菌剂引入防污涂料中，表现出优异的性能。本工作通过静电相互作用使纤维素纳米晶 （CNC） 和脱乙酰甲壳素纳米纤维 （DECHNs） 交联，以疏水性 SiO₂ 为涂层固化剂，制备 CNC/DECHN@SiO₂ 两性离子船用防污涂料。结果表明，当 CNCs 组分比例为 50% 时，涂层表现出 93% 的抗菌率和 88% 的抗藻率。在实际海洋环境测试中，对海洋生物污损的综合抵抗力在 60 天内达到 93%。我们的研究引入了两种具有相反电荷的天然成分来构建两性离子络合物，并创新性地将它们直接用作涂料中的防污剂。这项工作不仅为替代有毒防污剂提供了解决方案，还为直接使用两性离子聚合物作为防污剂提供了新思路。