Researchers develop coating against limescale. Limescale deposits like those in kettles also occur in thermal power plants.
Scientists have now copied a solution to the problem from nature. Researchers provided a polymer hydrogel with microscopic ridges that resemble those on shark scales. According to the researchers, these ensure that lime crystals have less contact with the surface, cannot settle and can therefore be removed more easily. In the experiments, up to 98 percent of all lime crystals up to around 10 micrometers that had previously grown on a hydrogal-coated surface were removed.