Characterization of bronze corrosion products on exposition to sulphur dioxide

In the main frame of the research aimed to model the corrosion growth on bronze surface, the objective of the work here reported has been to characterize the corrosion products formed on laboratory samples of bronze alloy (Cu Sn12), during the early stage of exposure to moist air with sulfur dioxide. A cycling corrosion cabinet was used to control 200 ppm gas concentration, relative humidity (RH) and temperature, according to the DIN 50018 (Kesternich test).The method is designed to evaluate how well the surface resists to sulfur dioxide corrosion; the test cycle consists of 8 hours exposure to sulfur dioxide at 40°C temperature and 100% relative humidity, followed by 12 hours drying at room condition. Weight variation, Spectrophotometer, Scanning Electron Microscopy with X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis were carried out for the tarnish products characterization. Some of the compound identified were brochantite (Cu 4(OH) 6SO 4), chalcanthite (CuSO 4·5H 2O) cuprite (Cu 2O), cassiterite (SnO 2) and ottemannite (Sn 2O 3). © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.