Transparent self-healing coating material can repair vehicle scratches in 30 minutes under light

According to foreign media reports, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology has developed a transparent protective coating material that can heal itself after being exposed to sunlight for 30 minutes

Self-healing clear coating material (Image credit: Korea Institute of Chemistry)

However, the transparent coating material developed by the Korea Institute of Chemical Research can meet all the above conditions, and its performance is similar to that of commercial protective coating materials.

With this self-healing protective material, if there are scratches on the surface of the vehicle, the scratches can be healed after being exposed to sunlight for 30 minutes

The principle of the self-healing phenomenon is that when the material absorbs sunlight, the light energy will be converted into heat energy, and the surface temperature will increase

To an existing commercial coating resin, the research team added a chemical bond that repeatedly dissociates and restructures the polymer structure (the hindered urea structure), and mixed it with a transparent photothermal dye to make it It can actively form dynamic chemical bonds under sunlight

Although the self-healing function of photothermal dyes has been studied before, the previous studies were mainly based on inorganic materials, and since the coating material must be transparent, it is difficult to achieve industrial application

To an existing commercial coating resin, the research team added a chemical bond that repeatedly dissociates and restructures the polymer structure (the hindered urea structure), and mixed it with a transparent photothermal dye to make it It can actively form dynamic chemical bonds under sunlight

The research team used transparent organic photothermal materials that can absorb near-infrared light

The self-healing material is expected to be used as a coating material in the fields of transportation, smart phones, computers and other electronic devices, and building materials in the future
.
In addition, it is also expected to contribute to carbon neutrality by reducing the large amount of harmful organic solvents generated when vehicles are repainted
.

"The technology developed this time is a platform technology for synthesizing self-healing coating materials using inexpensive commercial polymer materials and photothermal dyes," said the researchers
.
"It can be used not only in automotive clear coatings, but also in various fields.

.
"