Preface

Coating technology is an emerging field that is constantly evolving due to the development in advanced materials, in particular due to recent achievements in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Smart coatings can respond to environmental factors, for example, external and internal stress state, gradients in temperature, pH, biomarkers, and radiation. Modern coatings open new avenues of applications such as waterproof systems, self-cleaning, and self-healing systems. New coatings are developed for biological and medical applications, with emphasize on antibacterial features. The progress affects also coating manufacturing and related technologies. In addition to modern coating fabrication technologies, new methods for their analysis and characterization of materials are introduced which increase our abilities to better study their micro and nanostructure including different properties at various length and time scales. It is worth noting here that wear/corrosion resistance and therefore the coating performance is a property, not an intrinsic of materials, but of systems and the responses to the extrinsic factors should be understood in detail. Demands for coatings increase continuously as new applications require stringent constraints (e.g., in microelectronics industry). Smart phones and other electronic devices also require self-shielding and self-healing coatings. Alongside there are investments in R&D that will lead to market growth in the near future. There are several types of coatings currently on the market, including wear/corrosion resistant coatings, self-cleaning coatings, and biomedical coatings. Industries dedicated to personal health, aerospace, food packaging, home appliances, automotive, and information technology will have the largest impact onto the market. The global paints and coatings market are anticipated to reach around $286 billion by 2026. It is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period from 2020 onward due to numerous advancements that are driven by a strong rebound in worldwide building, construction, and manufacturing primarily in Western Europe, North America, and Japan. In addition, new coating methods are introduced everyday with higher efficiencies and clean processes. The overall importance and progress of coatings make it necessary to provide a reference book for coating technologies. Hence we have prepared this collection with the input of well-known researchers both from academic and industrial centers. We like to appreciate all of the contributions to this collection and thank them for their high-quality manuscripts. We wish that the publication will benefit all researchers and may act as a source of inspiration to this sparkling and sprightly field of research.