Who created this paint?
Debashis Chanda, a professor and researcher at the University of Central Florida (UCF), has developed the world’s first environmentally friendly and lightest paint, called Plasmonic paint. Professor Chanda has used the inspiration of butterflies to create this paint.
This paint is different from regular paint. Normal paints get their colour from pigments. Pigments are chemical substances added to paint that can absorb and reflect different colours of light.
What’s the difference between regular paint and plasmonic paint?
Regular paints use pigments. Plasmonic paints are different because they use special, small-sized structures made of two clear materials, aluminium and aluminium oxide, to make colours.
With regular pigment-based paints, each colour needs a different molecule. Plasmonic paint is different as it uses the arrangement of special, small-sized structures to make colours.
Pigment-based colours use artificially created molecules. However, plasmonic paint is better for the environment because it only uses metals and oxides, not artificial molecules.
What’s the advantage of plasmonic paint?
Plasmonic paint lasts a really long time and won't lose its colour like regular paint. It also absorbs less heat. So, the surface below the paint stays cooler. The scientists say this can help save energy and reduce pollution.
This paint is super lightweight. Only around 3 pounds (1.36 kg) of paint is required to colour a big plane like a Boeing 747. Over 1,000 pounds (453 kg) of regular paint would be required to colour the plane. So, this new paint can also save a lot of money.
Is this paint available on the market?
This new paint can replace regular colours, but cannot be bought yet. Scientists have made it in different colours, and they're studying how it saves energy so that it can be sold in the future.
Professor Debashis Chanda says making this paint in a lab costs a lot of money right now. They are trying to find a way to make a lot of it for less money.
