Researchers have developed a coating that under ultra violet light smooths over any scratches or chips that have occurred.
The substance works because under a powerful lamp the paint becomes temporarily "unglued" and flows into any blemishes.
The scientists believe that the re-healable materials like theirs could also be used in varnishes for floors and furniture.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland said that unlike normal polymers that are made up of long molecules, the new substance was made up of smaller particles held together by "molecular glue."
The result is the new materials – which the scientists call "metallo-supramolecular polymers" – behave in many ways like normal polymers.
However, when irradiated with intense UV light, the assembled structures are temporarily unglued.
This transforms the originally solid material into a liquid that flows easily.
When the light is switched off, the material reassembles and solidifies again – the original properties are restored.
Using lamps such as those dentists use to cure fillings, the researchers repaired scratches in their polymers.
Wherever they waved the light beam, the scratches filled up and disappeared, much like a cut that heals and leaves no trace on skin.
Tests showed the researchers could repeatedly scratch and heal their materials in the same location.
Mark Burnworth, a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University, said: "We can simply use heat to heal these materials.
"But by using light, we have more control as it allows us to target only the defect and leave the rest of the material untouched."
The findings were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Uma tinta de carro que, sob a ação de luz ultravioleta, é capaz de voltar ao seu estado líquido, fazendo com que os arranhões do veículo sumam.
Esse é o projeto que está sendo desenvolvido por um grupo internacional de cientistas da Case Western Reserve University, de Ohio (EUA).
O produto não é exatamente uma novidade. A fabricante de automóveis Nissan já implantou uma versão, digamos, mais primitiva em duas de suas linhas de carros.
No caso do revestimento da Case que tem polímeros e íons metálicos em sua composição, assim que deixa de receber a luz ultravioleta que o aquece, ele volta a endurecer. Outra vantagem é que esse processo não leva mais do que segundos.
A principal característica, segundo o estudante de graduação Mark Burnworth, que está envolvido no projeto, é a possibilidade de manusear somente uma área específica. Isto é, daria para trabalhar o arranhão de uma parte do carro sem mexer no resto da lataria.
Detalhes do estudo, que teve financiamento do Exército americano, serão publicados na revista "Nature".
Researchers have developed a coating that under ultra violet light smooths over any scratches or chips that have occurred.
The substance works because under a powerful lamp the paint becomes temporarily "unglued" and flows into any blemishes.
The scientists believe that the re-healable materials like theirs could also be used in varnishes for floors and furniture.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland said that unlike normal polymers that are made up of long molecules, the new substance was made up of smaller particles held together by "molecular glue."
The result is the new materials – which the scientists call "metallo-supramolecular polymers" – behave in many ways like normal polymers.
However, when irradiated with intense UV light, the assembled structures are temporarily unglued.
This transforms the originally solid material into a liquid that flows easily.
When the light is switched off, the material reassembles and solidifies again – the original properties are restored.
Using lamps such as those dentists use to cure fillings, the researchers repaired scratches in their polymers.
Wherever they waved the light beam, the scratches filled up and disappeared, much like a cut that heals and leaves no trace on skin.
Tests showed the researchers could repeatedly scratch and heal their materials in the same location.
Mark Burnworth, a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University, said: "We can simply use heat to heal these materials.
"But by using light, we have more control as it allows us to target only the defect and leave the rest of the material untouched."
The findings were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
This transforms the originally solid material into a liquid that flows easily.
When the light is switched off, the material reassembles and solidifies again – the original properties are restored.
Using lamps such as those dentists use to cure fillings, the researchers repaired scratches in their polymers.
Wherever they waved the light beam, the scratches filled up and disappeared, much like a cut that heals and leaves no trace on skin.
Tests showed the researchers could repeatedly scratch and heal their materials in the same location.
Mark Burnworth, a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University, said: "We can simply use heat to heal these materials.
"But by using light, we have more control as it allows us to target only the defect and leave the rest of the material untouched."
The findings were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
Uma tinta de carro que, sob a ação de luz ultravioleta, é capaz de voltar ao seu estado líquido, fazendo com que os arranhões do veículo sumam.
Esse é o projeto que está sendo desenvolvido por um grupo internacional de cientistas da Case Western Reserve University, de Ohio (EUA).
O produto não é exatamente uma novidade. A fabricante de automóveis Nissan já implantou uma versão, digamos, mais primitiva em duas de suas linhas de carros.
No caso do revestimento da Case que tem polímeros e íons metálicos em sua composição, assim que deixa de receber a luz ultravioleta que o aquece, ele volta a endurecer. Outra vantagem é que esse processo não leva mais do que segundos.
A principal característica, segundo o estudante de graduação Mark Burnworth, que está envolvido no projeto, é a possibilidade de manusear somente uma área específica. Isto é, daria para trabalhar o arranhão de uma parte do carro sem mexer no resto da lataria.
Detalhes do estudo, que teve financiamento do Exército americano, serão publicados na revista "Nature".
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