The research team of Dr. Jin Chul Kim, Dr. Young il Park, and Dr. Ji-Eun Jeong created the self-healing coating which is both durable and can heal by exposing the vehicle to sunlight. They use transparent organic photothermal dyes which are relatively cheaper and do not alter the color of the vehicle.

Figure 1: The self-healing coatingcan heal by exposing the vehicle to sunlight.

Figure 1 shows thatwhat transparency has to do with a scratch-resistant coating material. All the existing commercial resin solutions have their own color. But the new organic photothermal dye material is transparent. So, when the coating heals, it doesn’t create a color mismatch on the spot. It is very hard to distinguish and is almost like nothing was done to remove the scratches. [1]

A new transparent coating can actually get rid of those ugly scratches in your car after just 30 minutes, scientists reveal.

“The developed technology is a platform technology that synthesizes self-healing coating materials using both inexpensive commercial polymer materials and photothermal dyes. It is expected to be widely used not only in automotive clearcoats but also in various applications,” says Dr. Jin Chul Kim.

To examine their invention’s performance, researchers coated a lab-scale model of a car using a spray-coating machine. The team then exposed the scratched car to midday sunlight for a half-hour. Results reveal that the scratches completely disappeared, with the surface of the coating material fully restored.

The team also used transparent organic photothermal dyes that absorb near-infrared light. This type of light consists of long-wavelength energy and accounts for less than 10 percent of natural sunlight. [2]

Organic photothermal dyes have several advantages for commercialization: they do not affect the product color due to being inherently colorless; they easily blend with various paints, and they are inexpensive.

The self-healing material could be used as a coating material for transport applications, electronic devices such as smartphones and computers, and future building materials. It is expected to contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality by reducing the use of harmful organic solvents, which are generated in large amounts when repainting vehicles. [3]

References:

1. https://fossbytes.com/self-healing-coating-developed-by-scientists/
2. https://www.studyfinds.org/coating-repairs-scratches-sunlight/
3. https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2022/08/scratches-to-car-paint-disappear-in-sunlight-with-self-healing-coating-material/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), Car Scratches can be Self-Healed in Sunlight using Transparent Coating, Anatechmaz, pp. 378