LAUSR

Biofouling is a worldwide problem from healthcare to the marine exploration. Aggressive biofouling, wear, and corrosion lead to severe deterioration in function and durability. Here, micro and nano-structured hierarchical diamond films, mimicking morphology of plant leaves were developed to simultaneously achieve superhydrophobicity, antibacterial efficacy and marine antibiofouling, combined with mechanical and chemical robustness. These coatings were designed and successfully constructed on various commercial substrates, such as titanium alloys, silicon, and quartz glass via a chemical vapor deposition process. The unique surface structure of diamond films reduced bacteria attachment by 90-99%. In the marine environment, these biomimetic diamond films significantly reduced more than 95% adhesion of green algae. The structured diamond films remained mechanical robustness, superhydrophobicity and antibacterial efficacy under high abrasion and corrosive conditions, exhibiting at least 20 times enhanced wear resistance than the bare commercial substrates even after long-term immersion in seawater.