The growth of fauna and flora on underwater structures in the sea is up to this time a major problem. Since the ban of tributyltin (TBT) from antifouling coatings, there is still a need for an ecologically sound method to solve this problem. It would also be good if this method might also work against corrosion, another problem in the shipping industry. In this thesis we investigate the antifouling and corrosion inhibiting properties of some ionic liquids.

First we talk about marine fouling, the problem that fouling entails and the various antifouling coatings that are already on the market. Then we explain what ionic liquids are and which we will use for the research. We also examine the main fouling organisms that we can expect on the steel plates during the tests.

The first research focuses on the effect of ionic liquids with an imidazolium ring on rust formation. In the second test we look for the antifouling property of the ionic liquid polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), with or without montmorillonite.

Both studies show promising results. It can be assumed that some ionic liquids are corrosion inhibiting or have antifouling properties. This is a step in the right direction to use one or more ionic liquids in the future to add the corrosion-inhibiting and antifouling properties to paint.