An apparatus includes an exhaust aftertreatment component. According to various embodiments, the exhaust aftertreatment component is any of a diesel oxidation catalyst, a diesel particulate filter, a decomposition reactor tube, a selective catalytic reduction device, and a reductant injector assembly. The apparatus also includes a ceramic thermal barrier coating applied to a surface of the exhaust aftertreatment component. The surface may, for example, be an outer wall of a housing of the exhaust aftertreatment component.