Multi-Scale Polymer Brushes Textile Materials with Antifouling Functions

A systematic investigation of the mechanisms proposed have been carried out by examining the functions and anti-fouling performance for the purpose of developing principles of how to design and fabricate multi-scale textile structures along with synthesizing nano-scale functional polymer brushes on micro-scale fibers to achieve durable anti-biofouling properties. A range of the micro-scale fiber-brushes have been developed by using textile engineering techniques to achieve the algae-like swinging function in the laminar or turbulent liquid flow, which make the static surfaces become dynamic moving surfaces separate from the movement of fluids to effectively prevent the adhesion of cell, spore and macro-fouling organisms. On the other hand, nano-scale chemical modification on fiber surfaces has been performed to effectively prevent protein and bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. Scientific evaluation techniques will be developed to test and characterize the anti-fouling performance of multi-scale polymer brushes.