They develop self-healing coatings
"We developed a polymer material that allows it to repair itself from sun exposure," said Marek Urban of the University of Southern Mississippi. UU), whose study appeared in the journal Science.
Self-healing coatings use chitosan, a substance found in the shells of crabs and shrimp. This is incorporated into traditional polymer materials, such as those used in tank coatings to protect paint.
Urban said the new coating uses easily accessible materials, offering an advantage over other self-repairers who, as he puts it, "were quite elaborate and not economically viable." He also clarified that this polymer can only be repaired in the same place once, and it does not work after repeated scratches.