Bioinspired self-healing nickel coating.

We present a study of self-healing mechanisms including their kinetics and thermodynamics in nickel coatings. The bioinspired self-healing coating is designed to enhance the durability of structural metal components exposed to harsh conditions. Microcapsules, reminiscent of natural healing reservoirs, were synthesized polymerization in an oil-in-water emulsion to encapsulate linseed oil, a healing agent, within poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) shells.

Observation of a chemical reaction in a levitating microdroplet cluster and droplet-generated music.

Ordered clusters of water droplets levitating over a heated water surface can be used as chemical microreactors and computational devices. Here we show that a chemical reaction between melamine and cyanuric acid can occur during coalescence of pairs of droplets containing these reagents and lead to the sedimentation of the product, crystals of melamine cyanurate. In rotating droplets, the crystals flash with frequencies dependent mostly on the rotational velocity of the droplets defined by the rotor of the velocity field of the air-vapor flow above the heated water surface.