Archive for the ‘coating’ tag
Keep dry in nanotech fabric
Researchers from The University of Zurich claim to have developed the most water-repellent clothing appropriate material.
The new coating is produced in a single step, in which silicon in a gas form condenses onto fibres to form nanofilaments.
The layer of silicone nanofilaments, which are highly chemically hydrophobic is key to the waterproof ability of the material. The spiky structure of the 40-nanometre-wide filaments strengthens that effect, creating a coating that prevents water droplets from soaking through the coating to the polyester fibres underneath. Drops of water stay as spherical balls on top of the fabric. If the material is tilted by two degrees from the horizontal, the water droplets will roll off like marbles.
Read more on: coating, Design, material, nanofilaments, Silicon, water, waterproofSplitting water paves the way for clean, green fuel
A team of researchers has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis, paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen, touted as the clean, green fuel of the future – cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.
Scientists from Monash University, the CSIRO and Princeton University, teamed up to develop system comprising a coating that can be impregnated with a form of manganese, a chemical essential to sustaining photosynthesis in plant life.
Read more on: carbon dioxide, chemicals, coating, Electronics, Energy, Energy, fuel, hydrogen, oxygen, sunlightAward-winning automotive coating system
An emission-free and environmentally sustainable automotive coating system has been developed by Australia’s CSIRO and Dulux Powder Coatings.
The Australian automotive industry uses about 10 million litres of liquid paint a year to coat the surfaces of new vehicles, including putting decorative finishes on plastic components, however, traditional wet paints have disadvantages. They do not have a high rate of spray transfer onto plastic parts – around 70 per cent is lost as waste, and contain solvents that release volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) to the atmosphere.
The goal of the project was to overcome a long-term sustainability issue for the automotive, plastics and furniture industries by replacing wet paint finishes on heat-sensitive substances, such as plastic components, with zero-waste powder coating technology.
Read more on: Automotive, coating, plastic, vehicleBio-coating enhances bone growth
A biologically-inspired material that is said to enhance tissue healing, improve bone growth around an implant and strengthen the attachment and integration of the implant to the bone, has been developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Andrés Garcia, Georgia Tech, explained: “We designed a coating that specifically communicates with cells, and we’re telling the cells to grow bone around the implant.”
He continued: “Our coating consists of a high density of polymer strands, akin to the bristles on a toothbrush, which we can then modify to present our bio-inspired, bioactive protein.”
Read more on: Bio Tech, biotechnology, coating, implant, material, polymer