Self-healing coatings and parts are next frontier for smart materials

       

Smart materials - those that change their properties in response to environmental stimuli, providing dynamic functionality - range from everyday items like photochromic lenses that darken in sunlight to complex ceramics and nanocomposites used in electronics.Emerging classes of smart materials include self-healing materials, sensing materials, and shape memory materials, each of which has many potential applications.Recent advances and ongoing improvements will help rapid and low-cost development of smart materials.

Smart materials become faster to develop

"Today, researchers are beginning to develop software tools for predicting what structures will result in what smart properties. As a result, in the next five to ten years, these kinds of smart materials may become much faster and cheaper to develop," said Anthony Vicari, Research Analyst and the lead author of a report titled "Get Smart: Smart Materials as a Design Paradigm".

Focus is on self-healing materials

Analysts found that the focus is on self-healing materials. With applications in composites and coatings, self-healing materials are set to be the next frontier for smart materials. Such materials automatically repair damage to themselves through one of several chemical mechanisms.

Commercialisation can occur rapidly

Researchers  reported that commercialisation can occur rapidly when conditions are right. Many classes of smart materials had long incubation times, but saw very rapid commercialisation once the time was right. Pieozelectric materials were long relegated to niche applications before booming due to adoption in mainstream products such as inkjet printers, digital cameras and smartphones.