Read the article by Petros Moschidis, published in the latest issue of Architect magazine by BOUSSIAS.
Imagine a scene from a science fiction film: the year is 2050. You are driving through an industrial area on the outskirts of Athens in your autonomous car, admiring the view.
On both sides of the road, robots are abrasive blasting fuel tanks, while at the same time collecting the removed material so that it can be 100% recycled into new coating material. Drones fly overhead, equipped with specially adapted containers, applying protective coatings using integrated airless spray guns.
This future scenario may seem excessive. However, some of these technologies are already under development and may become part of our everyday life within the next 20–30 years.
The use of drones in shipping for the removal of biofouling from ship hulls is a technology that is already being applied, both in shipyards and on vessels while in service. The collection and recycling of waste generated by abrasive blasting and hydroblasting in shipyards is already the subject of research programmes around the world.
Predicting future technological developments in the coatings industry is not easy. What is certain, however, is that in the coming years coatings will need to offer additional functions beyond the protection and decoration of surfaces.
These are the so-called functional coatings.
Natural resources on our planet are finite, and in the future we may no longer have the option of extracting new materials. For example, converting sand into high-quality silicon for solar panels is costly and energy-intensive.
It is considered almost certain that, at some point, coatings will be able to convert part of solar energy into electricity. In other words, they will transform the façade of a building into a single photovoltaic element.
Passive fire protection coatings are another example of functional coatings. As the years go by, demand for them is increasing in workplaces, schools, stadiums and older homes undergoing renovation.
Walls, floors, doors, windows and even furniture will be coated with suitable materials so that, in the event of fire, they delay flame development, giving people more time to evacuate safely.
Research has already led to the development of carbon capture coatings. Their operating principle was inspired by algae.
The prerequisite is that these coatings are applied on surfaces exposed to light, where they act biomimetically, through a mechanism similar to photosynthesis, removing CO₂ from the atmosphere.
According to experimental data from the American Coatings Association, three 15-litre buckets of coating, once applied, can remove 14 kg of CO₂ per year — the same amount removed by an adult tree weighing 250 kg over the course of one year.
Electromagnetic shielding coatings are another type of functional coating. These materials block a significant percentage of electromagnetic radiation.
They contain metallic flakes, usually nickel, copper or silver, and are applied to surfaces in order to prevent the passage of electromagnetic radiation.
They are used in:
- Server rooms.
- Operating theatres.
- Hospital laboratories.
- Areas requiring high levels of shielding.
They are also useful when high levels of protection are required in homes or bedrooms located near radio transmitters, mobile phone towers, power cables or other sources of intense electromagnetic radiation.
Other examples of functional coatings already available on the market include:
- Photocatalytic coatings.
- Antimicrobial coatings.
- Self-healing coatings.
- Cool coatings.
Photocatalytic coatings, with the help of visible light and a special type of titanium dioxide, break down unwanted organic substances, offering improved indoor air quality.
Antimicrobial coatings usually contain silver nanoparticles and inhibit the activity of pathogenic organisms. They are applied to surfaces that frequently come into contact with microbial sources, helping protect people from diseases and infections.
Self-healing coatings have the ability to repair deep scratches and surface damage either on their own or through external stimulation.
They are already used in automotive clearcoats and usually contain microcapsules filled with a special material. When the surface is scratched, the capsule breaks and releases this material, “healing” the damage.
In some self-healing coatings, the repair of the coating is activated by heat — usually 60–80 °C — for a few seconds, using a simple device such as a domestic hairdryer or even hot water.
The technology of cool coatings offers high reflectance in the infrared region of the solar radiation spectrum — 700–2500 nm — even in dark shades.
Due to the lower amount of absorbed energy, the cooling cost of buildings is significantly reduced. At the same time, thermal stress on materials is limited, resulting in a substantial extension of the service life of constructions.
As the transition from Industry 4.0 to Construction 5.0 takes place, more and more technologies that are already applied in other industrial sectors are being integrated into the coatings industry.
The moment is approaching when we will see smart coatings.
These will be coatings containing special embedded sensors in their composition. These sensors will be encapsulated within the coated surface and will collect data, continuously monitoring both the condition of the coating and the environmental conditions.
In this way, they will extend the service life of the structure and contribute to reducing maintenance requirements.
Significant progress has also been made in solvent-free coatings.
Not only coatings without organic solvents — VOCs — but also coatings without water.
Today, a large percentage of a coating formulation consists of solvents — water and/or organic solvents — which evaporate after application and do not form part of the protective film.
Such a scenario would help reduce gas emissions and transport costs, since products would have greater value concentration and occupy less volume.
As presented in the “Science Today, Coatings Tomorrow” session of Coating Forum 2023, one of the most important developments of recent years is the arrival of Quantum Pigments.
These are pigments made from Quantum Dots, a technology awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2023.
Quantum Pigments will give coatings greater brightness while remaining consistent. In other words, they will always offer the same colour, emitting with nanometre-level precision.
As a result, our reality will change through brighter colours, upgrading the way we perceive colour in general.
All of the above have one common objective:
the search for innovative and sustainable solutions aimed at minimising the environmental footprint of coatings, reducing the use of non-renewable natural resources and improving people’s quality of life.
First published in Architect magazine.