Good Bye To scratches, Self Healing Polymer Coatings

By Staff

Published: Friday, December 12, 2008, 16:37 [IST]

Your heart would not bleed if a scratch happens on the body of your car. Self healing polymer coatings have come as a boon to cure the scraps caused to objects. Having been developed at the University of Illinois, the application of such coatings range from automotive paints, marine varnishes to patio furnitures and park benches.

"Starting from our earlier work on self-healing materials at the U. of I., we have now created self-healing coatings that automatically repair themselves and prevent corrosion of the underlying substrate," said Paul Braun, a University Scholar and professor of materials science and engineering.

The making of this special self repairing coating involves encapsulating a catalyst into the spheres less than 100 microns in diameter (a micron is 1 millionth of a meter). Likewise a healing agent is also encapsulated into similarly sized microcapsules. The microcapsules are then dispersed within the coating material and applied into the substrate.

"By encapsulating both the catalyst and the healing agent, we have created a dual capsule system that can be added to virtually any liquid coating material," said Braun.

When the exterior of a material or object is scratched, some of the capsules spills out the contents to react in aid to repair the damaged region. The catalyst along with the healing agent work to undo the damage within a few minutes or hours depending on the environmental conditions.

"Our dual capsule healing system offers a general approach to self-healing coatings that operates across a broad spectrum of coating chemistries. The microcapsule motif also provides a delivery mechanism for corrosion inhibitors, antimicrobial agents, and other functional chemicals," said Braun.

The study is to be published in the journal Advanced Materials.

So a scratch on your car is not going to leave your heart broken. A remedy to render a patch to your heart !