Study of electroplated silver-palladium biofouling inhibiting coating

Biofouling can cause many undesirable effects in industrial and medical settings. In this study, a new biofouling inhibiting Ag-Pd surface was designed to form an inhibiting effect by itself. This design was based on silver combined with nobler palladium, both with catalytic properties. Owing to the potential difference between silver and palladium while contacting with an electrolyte, the surface can form numerous discrete anodic and cathodic areas, so that an inhibiting reaction can occur. In this paper, a series of electrochemical and biological investigations were conducted to study the properties and biofouling inhibiting mechanism of these surfaces. In this study, the evidence is presented that the inhibiting effect can be caused by the electrochemical interactions and/or electric field between Pd and Ag/AgCl combined with an organic environment.