A new coating using NHC primer and UV-cured polymer protects iron from rust, cutting corrosion by 99.6% in saltwater tests.

Naturally spreading rust is thick, ... "For perspective, plates having an area of 10 square meters each would generate a few kilowatts per hour—enough for a standard U.S. home," Miller says.

PVD let the team create an iron layer 10 nanometers thick. After taking the metal film out of the PVD machine, rust formed spontaneously in air to a thickness of about 2 nanometers.