Three-dimensional flower-like shaped Bi5O7I particles incorporation zwitterionic fluorinated polymers with synergistic hydration-photocatalytic for enhanced marine antifouling performance.

Herein, several novel composite films consisting of three-dimensional (3D) Bi5O7I flower-like shaped microsphere and zwitterionic fluorinated polymer (ZFP) were successfully fabricated with the aim of achieving high anti-fouling performance. The prepared Bi5O7I flower-like shaped microsphere particles with diameters in the range of 2∼3 μm were uniformly distributed on the surface and in the internal of ZFP. Benefiting from the hydration layer formed by the ZFP and the efficient photocatalytic performance of Bi5O7I flower-like microsphere, the resultant optimized Bi5O7I/ZFP composite film exhibited an excellent diatom anti-settling performance and a high antibacterial rate of 99.09% and 99.66% towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the composite films possessed the strengthened visible light absorption, the effectively separation and transfer of the photo-induced electrons and holes, the large number of hydroxyl (OH) radicals and superoxide radicals (O2-) all in Bi5O7I/ZFP systems, all of which were beneficial for the photocatalytic antifouling activity. More importantly, the synergistic hydration-photocatalytic effect of the Bi5O7I/ZFP composite films are answerable for the improvement of the antifouling property compared to the control. Thus, the synergistic hydration-photocatalytic contribution of Bi5O7I/ZFP composite film will shows promise for potential application in marine antifouling.