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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Environmentally friendly organic-inorganic hybrid materials with repellent activity against marine fouling organisms have been developed using interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs), composed of a three-dimensional silica matrix of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and chain-like polymers, such as poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylacetate) (PVAc). The repellent activity of the IPNs reached a maximum of approximately 90% relative to that of tetrabutyl tin oxide (TBTO). Simple bioassays using blue mussels and algae were used to screen out the adequate proportions of those components.