Anti-Fouling Coatings Designed via Full Spectral Hamaker Constant Minimization

Anti-fouling coatings and associated systems and methods are generally described. In some aspects, a system comprises a substrate, a coating disposed on at least a portion of the substrate, and a fluid comprising one or more foulants, where the coating is configured to be in physical contact with the fluid during use. According to some embodiments, a full-spectral Hamaker constant associated with the coating and the fluid is relatively low (e.g., about 20 zJ or less, about 10 zJ or less), and the van der Waals (vdW) force between the coating and the one or more foulants is, therefore, correspondingly low. Under some conditions (e.g., high temperature and/or high pressure conditions), intermolecular interactions between the coating and the one or more foulants may be dominated by the vdW force, and a relatively low vdW force may reduce the likelihood of the one or more foulants adhering to and/or otherwise being deposited on the coating. By selecting a material for the coating that results in a relatively low full- spectral Hamaker constant, fouling of the coating may thus be reduced or even eliminated. In some cases, a material for the coating that has optical properties (e.g., refractive indices, frequency-dependent dielectric response values) that match those of the fluid across a spectrum of frequencies may advantageously be associated with a relatively low full- spectral Hamaker constant.