Protective coating applied to metallic reactor components to reduce corrosion products into the nuclear reactor environment

An insulating coating is applied to the metallic components in a nuclear reactor water environment to decrease and/or mitigate general corrosion and erosion-corrosion of the reactor component's metallic surfaces. Preferably, the coating is a 0.1 micron to 0.3 mm thin layer of an oxide coating such as titania (TiO2), zirconia (ZrO2), tantala (Ta2O5), Al2O3, CeO2 or similar oxides; or a thin layer of the metal, such as Ti, Zr, Ta, Hf, Ce, Al, which will oxidize in the reactor water environment. The applied coating provides a protective layer between the component surfaces and the reactor water environment. By reducing and/or eliminating the potential for corrosion on reactor metallic components, the coating eliminates or minimizes the potential for activated corrosion products to contaminate the reactor water. The coating is especially beneficial for nickel-alloy based metals that contribute significant cobalt-related corrosion products, and will also be effective on austenitic stainless steel components.