Barnacle busters

North Carolina State University engineers have created a non-toxic coating for use on ship hulls that resisted build-up of troublesome barnacles during 18 months of seawater tests - a finding that could ultimately save boat owners millions of dollars in cleaning and fuel costs.

The research, conducted by Dr Kirill Efimenko, a research assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Dr Jan Genzer, a professor in the same department, showed for the first time that surface coatings containing nests of different-sized 'wrinkles' are effective in preventing barnacles from firmly latching on to the coatings.

'The results are very promising,' Efimenko said. 'We are dealing with a very complex phenomenon. Living organisms are very adaptable to the environment, so we need to find their weakness. And this hierarchical wrinkled topography seems to do the trick.'

Researchers created the coatings by stretching a rubber sheet, applying an ultra-violet ozone treatment to it and then relieving the tension, causing wrinkles to form. The coatings were then covered with an ultra-thin layer of semi-fluorinated material.