Bielawski points to the practical aspects of the Illinois coatings, which are made up of cheap, readily available chemicals. And Braun says that the new additives could be used in a wide range of applications in coatings that are cured up to temperatures of about 150 °C. The group demonstrated the self-healing system in various coatings, including in a commercial military ship paint.

Most work on self-healing materials, including those developed by the Illinois group, has been aimed at incorporating them into various structures, restoring mechanical properties to walls so that they won't crumble or to airplane wings so that they won't fracture. The key to the coating technology, says Braun, was encapsulating the catalyst. If unprotected, the catalyst could degrade the coating itself; encapsulating it makes the system compatible with a wide range of paints and coatings.