Coatings or paints are materials applied to different surfaces basically for decorative and protective purposes. Yet today the market for these materials is being subjected to increasingly tougher specifications. In addition to being decorative and protective,today's coatings must own additional properties such as, for example, and low microorganism-adherence,ease of cleaning or self-repair properties. The development of materials of this type, known as "functional coatings", and calls for the control not only of their physical properties (mainly to enact with their morphology) but also of the chemical ones of the surfaces produced.
Source: phys.org