German scientists have developed self-healing coatings that can automatically repair body scratches

Although it will not cause damage to the vehicle, the small scratches on the body are always annoying To understand these troubles, the team from the Institute of new materials in Leibniz, Germany and the University of Saarland jointly developed a transparent coating Based on the special arrangement of its molecules, the small scratches will be able to repair themselves at the appropriate heat The team's transparent coating contains a component called cyclodextrins, which are circular molecules from corn starch strung on long-chain polymers like pearls They can move freely in some parts of the long chain without falling from the end The molecules are cross linked through chemical reactions Carsten Becker Willinger, project director of INM nanomers, explained that when exposed to the appropriate heat, cyclodextrin will slide along the circular chain to fill any gap that may be caused by scratches, which makes the polymer network of the coating very flexible and elastic In the initial study, scratch healing took several hours, but by adding other ingredients such as inorganic nanoparticles, the team has been able to reduce the time to remove tiny scratches to one minute at a temperature of 100 C The team is currently working to expand the production process and find partners to assist in commercializing the technology It is understood that the team will participate in the exhibition of the German Hannover industrial exhibition in April, and those interested may go to the scene to watch.