A Sandcastle-Worm-Inspired Strategy toward Antimicrobial Fouling and Fireproof Composite

Marine composites with antimicrobial fouling and fireproofing are indispensable for ocean facilities that resist extremely harsh environments. Marine life has excited various inspirations to withstand harsh environments, in which sandcastle worms secrete unique adhesives for gluing sand and shell fragments together to build robust and protective habitats. Herein, we design an adherable macromolecule interface containing tyramine and ammonium phosphate motifs to create superhighly flame-retardant and excellent antibacterial functional composites. The results demonstrate that the phenolic hydroxyl groups in tyramine improve the chemical affinity among ammonium polyphosphate, vinyl ester resin, and carbon fibers due to the great adhesion, while also exhibiting excellent broad-spectrum antimicrobial fouling properties for bacteria, mold, and algae. The tyramine and ammonium phosphate groups synergistically achieve superhigh fire-safety performance beyond current levels to powerfully defend human life in maritime confined spaces. This sandcastle-worm-inspired strategy emerges as an attractive candidate for super antimicrobial fouling and fireproof protection in extremely harsh ocean environments.