Graphene Oxide/Silver Nanocomposites as Antifouling Coating on Sensor Housing Materials

These days, sensors are widely used in a variety of underwater sites like marine monitoring, fish-farming and water quality monitoring. However, to achieve reliable sensor data from long-term monitoring in aqueous solution, several challenges still need to be solved. Biofilm formation both on sensor housings and membranes is among one of the most serious challenges, which strongly influences the sensor responds and the validity of the results. To prevent biofilm growth, a series of graphene oxide (GO)/silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) nanocomposites (GOA) have been developed and coated on sensor housing materials, e.g. polypropylene. The antifouling property of the GOA nanocomposite has been demonstrated by antifouling tests using Halomonas. Pacifica (Baumann et al.) Dobson and Franzmann (ATCC® 27122) (H. Pacifica) and a mixture of marine algae. The antifouling property of GOA composites has been proved to be closely related to the dispersibility of Ag NP. The overall work might provide valuable insight into developing antifouling materials for sensors in general.