Surfaces Get Smarter: Scouting Emerging Coatings, Markets, and Functionalities

Coatings have long been used to protect and enhance surfaces as mundane as walls to the most critical industrial equipment. More recently, advances in nanotechnology and materials science have enabled advanced functionalities such as hydrophobicity and self-healing, while researchers strive to enable next generation coatings to dynamically react to their environment. From end users to materials suppliers, the changing capabilities of coatings stand to impact the entire value chain in multiple industries. To aid clients, we use the Lux Innovation Grid to sort winners and losers in hydrophobic coatings, discuss key trends, drivers, and players in liquid-infused and self-healing coatings, and scout the capabilities of emerging “smart” coatings that have the potential to redefine the role of surfaces entirely.