What could be better than a high-performance coating for a building enclosure? How about a finish or coating system that delivers responsiveness and functionality for exterior surfaces over the life of the building? These coatings would sense and react to various stimuli such as weather, ultraviolet (UV) light, pressure, heat and the like, bringing new and active capabilities such as corrosion resistance, antimicrobial action, self-cleaning and self-healing, among others.
Fortunately, these “smart coatings” do exist and are viable and available for commercial use today. While most regular building coatings are formulated to be inert, highly stable and resistant, research and development initiatives are driving a wave of innovations in exterior finishes and engineering products that are far smarter than ever seen before. Many of these valuable functions mirror scientific principles found in nature—in fact, the increased development of materials using biomimicry is leading to a range of new, smart coatings—and some reflect advances in materials chemistry and nano-scale fabrication seen over the last two decades. Some of the smart coatings are designed for a single layer of application; while other systems require multiple coats.