Novel material dislodges bacteria from ship hulls
Duke University engineers have developed a material that can be applied like paint to the hull of a ship to dislodge bacteria.
The advance, they claim, could help to reduce drag and increase energy efficiency.
The material works by physically moving at the microscopic level, knocking the bacteria away.
This avoids the use of bacteria-killing paints, which can contain heavy metals or other toxic chemicals that might accumulate in the environment and unintentionally harm fish or other marine organisms.
"We have developed a material that wrinkles, or changes its surface in response to a stimulus, such as stretching or pressure or electricity," said Duke engineer Xuanhe Zhao. "This deformation can effectively detach bio films and other organisms that have accumulated on the surface."
