TEHRAN (ANA)- Researchers at Hormozgan University in the Southern part of Iran have produced an anti-fouling coating using natural marine compounds to paint the hull of a ship or boat.
“Biosynthesis of reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite with natural marine compounds and surveying its anti-fouling effects,” is title of a research carried out at Hormozgan University by Solmaz Soleimani, the executive director of the project, according to a report by the public relations department of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).
“In the past few years, graphene and graphene oxide have attracted the attention of scientists and many applications have been defined for it,” Soleimani said.
Stating that no other research has been done in the field of biosynthesis of graphene oxide nanocomposite obtained from natural sea sources, the researcher added, “In this research, biosynthesis of graphene oxide nanocomposite obtianed from natural sea resources with antifouling feature has been carried out to use in [marine] industry.”
The anti-fouling coatings available in the market are produced based on chemical materials and methods that cause irreparable damage to the environment, she said, adding, “Therefore, in this study, we synthesized graphene oxide nanocomposite regenerated with natural marine compounds, which has antifouling properties. This synthesis not only does not harm the environment, but also is lower-priced than other coatings and anti-fouling compounds available in the market.”
According to her, the newly produced coating not only is not harmfull to to the environment, but also kills harmful organisms.
It also reduces the costs of removing these organisms from the ship's hull, she further said.
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Source: ANA