Chrome replacement

For many years, chrome has been used to add a protective coating and shiny lustre to a wide range of metal products, from bathroom fixtures to car bumpers.

Chrome adds beauty and durability, but those features come at a heavy cost.

Although it is inexpensive to produce, the industrial process to create it is dangerous for workers and pollutes the environment.

'People have been trying to replace it for a very long time,' said Christopher Schuh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) associate professor of materials science and engineering.

'The problem is that it's the only plated metal coating that has all of these properties - hardness, long-lasting shine and corrosion protection,' he added.

Until now, that is.

Schuh and his collaborators have developed a new nickel-tungsten alloy that, they claim, is not only safer than chrome but also more durable.

The new coating, which is now being tested on the bumpers of a truck fleet, could also replace chrome in engine parts, among other applications.