A surface treatment agent which is an aqueous emulsion containing: (a) a fluorine-free polymer including: (i) repeating units derived from a long-chain (meth)acrylate ester monomer represented by the formula: CH.sub.2═CA.sup.11-C(═O)—O-A.sup.12, wherein A.sup.11 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and A.sup.12 is a linear or branched aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 10-30 carbon atoms; (b) a surface active agent including both of a nonionic surface active agent and an anionic surface active agent, wherein the amount of the anionic surface active agent is at least 22% by weight, based on the total of the nonionic surface active agent and the anionic surface active agent; and (c) a liquid medium comprising water.

The present invention relates to a polymer comprising (a1) silyl ester group(s) and (a2) quaternary ammonium group(s) and/or quaternary phosphonium group(s), said quaternary ammonium groups and/or quaternary phosphonium groups being neutralised by counter-ions, wherein the counter-ions consist of the conjugate base of an acid having an aliphatic, aromatic, or alkaryl hydrocarbyl group. The invention further relates to a fouling control coating composition comprising said polymer, a method of protecting a man-made structure immersed in water from fouling, and a substrate or structure coated with the fouling control coating composition.

The present invention provides antifouling coating compositions having excellent long-term storage stability and provides an antifouling coating composition that can maintain the stable dissolution and antifouling performance of a coating film without causing coating film defects such as cracks in seawater for a long term, such that an antifouling coating film having increased environmental safety can be formed. The present invention provides an antifouling coating composition containing: (A) a triorganosilyl ester-containing copolymer obtained from a mixture of (a) a triorganosilyl (meth)acrylate monomer represented by general formula (1):

##STR00001##

(here, R.sup.1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; and R.sup.2, R.sup.3, and R.sup.4 are the same or different from each other and each represents a C.sub.3-6 alkyl group branched at the α-position or a phenyl group) and (b) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer copolymerizable with the triorganosilyl (meth)acrylate monomer; and (B) calcium sulfate hydrate.

An object of the present invention is to provide an antifouling coating composition capable of forming an antifouling coating film that retains a high antifouling performance for a prolonged period of time and has an excellent damage resistance. Another object of the present invention is to provide an antifouling coating film formed with the antifouling coating composition, a substrate with an antifouling coating film and a method for producing the same, and an antifouling method using the antifouling coating film. The antifouling coating composition of the present invention contains a hydrolyzable polymer (A) containing a metal ester group, zinc oxide (B), and medetomidine (C), and has a content of the zinc oxide (B) in a solid content of the antifouling composition of 27 to 60% by mass.

Provided is a coating technology additionally excellent in, for example, water repellency, oil repellency, and ease of dirt removal. An article having a coating on a substrate, in which the coating contains: (a) a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane; and (b) an acrylate polymer having a structural unit represented by the following general formula (II): where Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, Rf represents —CH.sub.2—(CF.sub.2).sub.q—CF.sub.3 or —CH(CF.sub.3).sub.2, and q represents an integer of 0 to 8. ##STR00001##

The present invention relates to an antifouling coating composition, an antifouling coating film, a substrate with an antifouling coating film, a antifouling substrate, a method for producing substrate with an antifouling coating film, and a method for preventing substrate from fouling. The antifouling coating composition includes a hydrolyzable polymer (A) including at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer (A1) having a structural unit represented by the formula (1) below and a polymer (A2) having a structural unit represented by the formula (2) below, a tertiary carboxylic acid component (B) including versatic acid, and an antifouling agent component (C).

##STR00001##

[In the formula (1), M is zinc or copper, and R.sup.1 independently at each occurrence is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group.]

—COO-M-O—COR.sup.2  (2)

[In the formula (2), M is zinc or copper, and R.sup.2 is an organic group.]

A surface-treating composition including a fluorine-containing polymer which is able to form a layer having both high surface slip property and high friction durability. The surface-treating composition includes a first compound (a reactive fluorine-containing polymer which is a fluorine-containing silane polymer) and a second compound (a non-reactive fluorine-containing polymer which is a fluorine-containing oil), and the proportion of the first compound is 15 to 70% by mass with respect to the total mass of the first compound and the second compound.

A baking-type aqueous organic silicon fluorine-containing polymer paint is provided, which includes an aqueous organic silicon fluorine-containing polymer dispersion and a curing agent. The curing agent includes aqueous amino resin, aqueous isocyanate resin, or a combination thereof. In addition, the paint may further include an assist resin such as aqueous polyester resin, aqueous acrylic acid resin, aqueous epoxy resin, aqueous phenoxy resin, or a combination thereof.

Methods of enhancing the anti-virus capabilities of surfaces directly contacted by humans. The methods include applying a hydrophobic coating material to a surface of an article to form a hydrophobic surface coating overlying the surface such that the hydrophobic surface coating defines a hydrophobic outer surface of the article. The hydrophobic outer surface is more hydrophobic than the surface of the article, and a liquid that contains suspended viruses and is deposited on the hydrophobic outer surface exhibits a contact angle relative to the hydrophobic outer surface that is greater than a contact angle of the liquid if directly deposited on the surface of the article, and the hydrophobic outer surface thereby increases inactivation of the viruses suspended in the liquid as compared to the surface of the article to which the hydrophobic coating material was applied.

The invention relates an aqueous coating composition comprising an acrylic polymer dissolved in a liquid phase comprising water and a water-miscible solvent, wherein the coating composition comprises at least 50 wt % water, and wherein the acrylic polymer is a film-forming polymer obtainable by free radical polymerization of a monomer mixture comprising in the range of from 30 0 to 70 wt % of a poly(ethyleneglycol) (meth)acrylic monomer a.; in the range of from 2 to 20 wt % of an alkoxysilyl or alkoxyalkylsilyl functional (meth)acrylic monomer b.; and in the range of from 10 to 68 wt % of a hydrophobic ethylenically unsaturated monomer c. The invention further relates to a substrate coated with such coating composition, to a process for controlling aquatic biofouling on a surface of a man-made object, and to use of such coating composition to control aquatic biofouling on a man-made object.