Nanotechnology in Automotive industries.

It is quiet obvious nowadays that nanotechnology and automotive industries are already inseparable in many aspects. Cars already come out on the market with numerous parts and technologies that involves nanotechnology such as paint, engine, windshields, and etc. These days, nanotechnology takes an important role in reducing weight of vehicles and preventing corrosion and promote lubrication of engine components. Even whenever I go to auto parts store, there are so many products with advertisement copy that says the products are made with latest nanotechnology. Among all those, the feature that captured my attention the most was using nanotechnology in surface coating.

Almost every car owner wants their car's paint to last shiny and clean forever, and according to a research conducted by Future Markets Inc., the market for nanotechnology in automotive paints and coatings is quiet substantial;"The overall world automotive paints and coatings market was estimated to be $7.75billion in 2010 and nanomaterials will play a key role in future growth..."

This is one example that shows how nanoparticles coat the surface yet maintains original texture of the material. By covering whole surfaces of the material without leaving any empty space between the coat and material, the paint does not crack due to the bend or scratches.

Another interesting example is self healing paint and film:





By using self assembling characteristic of nanoparticles, scratched surfaces can easily be fixed.
This gives me an interesting idea of making even more car parts using this technology so that the body or chassis itself could reassemble itself by using heat or electricity.


references :

"The Global Market for Nanocoatings in the Automotive Industry: Market Size, Applications, Nanomaterials and Companies." Future Markets, Inc, n.d. Web.