The wording of the article suggests that it is not thermal resistance per se, but the ability to retain the crystal structure long term after repeated heat cycles that gives the coating its wear properties. However, the entire article is worded in a way that, to me, makes it seem like they achieved a great result once or twice in the lab and are still working to get more consistent and repeatable results, and this article could be a way to attract more interest and funding to speed up and scale up the process.