Characterization of barnacle glue morphology on hydrophobic surfaces

Abstract

Barnacle glue, as an adhesive, is extremely complex and has yet to be characterized successfully. Barnacles themselves are marine organisms that adhere to a vast number of surfaces both above and below water. Due to the weight and drag they add to the vessel, ships are forced to expend more fuel and money during voyages. They can also cause structural damage which leads to longer maintenance schedules and labor. Over longer time periods, these organisms severely degrade the longevity of the underwater surfaces which lead to sky-rocketing costs. It is because of this that many researchers have attempted to create coatings that would prevent such attachment from organisms such as barnacles. They have been successful with these paints, however, it has been found that these coatings can cause severe damage to the environment, especially the aquatic surroundings. These coatings/paints release damaging chemicals which are extremely detrimental, which is why there has been increasing attention to developing a coating which is both effective and doesn't have the damaging properties of the current paints. There are many reasons why barnacles glue is even such an interest topic, but perhaps the most exceptional aspect to the glue is that fact that even underwater the adhesive is so strong and secure. The glue is secreted from duct on the base plate and from there attaches to the surface. The attempt this summer was to characterize the makeup of the barnacle glue and be able to provide a scale for its adhesive nature to experimentally characterize and label how strong the glue is on different surfaces. The study this summer was focused on how substrate composition and hydrophobicity affect the adhesiveness of the barnacle glue.