How zinc oxide influences copper release has been tested and the lowest release rate of copper from various combinations of copper and zinc in a paint matrix evaluated, whilst still deterring macrofouling, including barnacles and bryozoans. Copper (I) oxide was added to a generic AF paint in 0, 8.5, 11.7 or 16.3 wt% copper oxide in combination with 0, 10 or 20 wt% zinc oxide and applied on PMMA panels. The results show that zinc influences the release rate of copper. When 10 and 20 wt% zinc was added, the total amount of copper released significantly increased by on average 32 and 47% respectively. All treatments that included copper were successful in deterring macrofouling, including the treatment with the lowest average Cu release rate, ie 4.68 μg cm-2 day-1.
Keywords: Biofouling; X-ray fluorescence; antifouling; copper; release rate; zinc.