New, Tough Paint is Super Water Repellent and Self-Cleans (VIDEO)

It's a step forward for material science. Researchers have created a new paint that self-cleans, resisting dirt and grime. The coating can be applied to clothes, paper, glass and steel and can even maintain its self-cleaning properties after being wiped, scratched with a knife and scuffed with sandpaper.

Self-cleaning surfaces work by being extremely repellent to water. However, these surfaces can stop working after being damaged or exposed to oil. In this case, though, the paint creates a more resilient surface that is resistant to everyday wear and tear. Not only that, but it could be used for a wide range of real-world applications from clothing to cars.

"Being waterproof allows materials to self-clean as water forms marble-shaped droplets that roll over the surface, acting like miniature vacuum cleaners picking up dirt, viruses and bacteria along the way," said Yao Lu, one of the researchers, in a news release. "For this to happen, the surface must be rough and waxy, so we set out to create these conditions on hard and soft surfaces by designing our own paint and combining it with different adhesives to help the surfaces withstand damage."

The new paint is made from coated titanium dioxide nanoparticles. These can give a wide-range of materials self-cleaning properties, even during and after immersion in oil.

"Our paint worked extremely well for a variety of surfaces in tought conditions which were designed to simulate the wear and tear of materials in the real world," said Lu. "For example, car paint frequently gets scuffed and scratched and we wanted to make sure our paint would survive that. As well as practical uses, the paint could also be used creatively to make art with water which is something I have been exploring in my own time."

The new paint could be huge for materials in the future. The fact that it can withstand everyday damage means that it could be incorporated into products in the future.

The findings are published in the journal Science.

Want to see the pain in action? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.

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