It is already being used for projects in several Asian and European countries, including Japan, Korea, Italy, Germany and France, according to Wessling, who also has had discussions with some U.S. manufacturers.
Conventional coatings act as temporary barriers to environmental assaults.
Rust and corrosion occur when a metal donates some of its electrons to oxygen, causing the formation of impurities that weaken the structure. This can be delayed by painting a metal or plating it with zinc or another, more reactive metal. Zinc, which is a good electron donor, reacts with oxygen, leaving the metal underneath unaffected. But there is a limit to how long paint and zinc coatings can last. Polyaniline works differently.