Blog Overview

Recently I’ve attended our Conference "Automotive Coatings” in Berlin. I was pleasantly surprised about lively discussions by participants. One of the topics responding to a great deal of interest was a theme of smart coatings. According to the experts, the industrial need for smart coatings is in the fields of self-healing, anti-finger-print, easy-to-clean, stability to UV-light and low energy (reflecting light). The advantage of such coatings is obvious: more performance properties make a coating attractive for a number of special applications. But what about the durability of the effect? I think the durability of the functional coatings is the most important issue to research and to work on.

What differentiates your heating and cooling needs between winter and summer? Of course we need more heat in winter and more cooling in the summer. One of the desirable architectural features in a building is to have lots of windows. Yet, one of the factors that limits this type of architectural feature is the effect of too much sunlight. There is a need for smart coatings on windows which is able to let in more sunlight (near-Infra Red or NIR) heating during winter and to block it during summers. This alone can save so much in energy bill for buildings not only in temperature but in lighting control. Such that a truly efficient coating if available can be a commercial success and is a green signature. Here is how it works.

I have recently been discussing with a colleague some need and initiatives for smart coatings that save on energy. One of the ideas that I am particularly interested in on IR-reflecting coatings with thermochromic behavior.  Perhaps something that reflects sunlight during summers and absorbs them during winter.

I just came from the Smart Coatings 2011 in Orlando. Nice weather and location! It was well-attended with a number of lectures on the use of block copolymers templates, layer-by-layer deposition coatings, polymer brush grafting, novel methods for optical coatings, and new concepts for superhydrophobic surfaces.

Latex paints contain several types of particles including polymer binder, primary pigment, extenders, and colorants. Non-traditional and nanoparticle components are of high interest. Organic–inorganic hybrids with well-defined morphology and nanostructure represent a very interesting class of materials both for their use as biomimetic composites and because of their potential use in a wide range of technologically advanced as well as more conventional application fields - coatings.