CORROSION AND PROTECTION OF NON-PATINATED, SULPHIDE- AND CHLORIDE-PATINATED BRONZE

The surface of bronze undergoes changes when it is exposed to a polluted atmosphere, and bronze should therefore be protected from this natural deterioration. The most common protective coating currently in use is Incralac, which includes toxic components and is reported to dissolve a few months after application. This work therefore investigates a fluoropolymer-based coating (FA-MS), and compares it to the protection offered by Incralac. Bronze samples (non-patinated, sulphide-patinated or chloride-patinated) were exposed to simulated urban rain for four months. The corrosion products formed were characterised using SEM/EDS and Raman analyses. To study the protection efficiency of the newly developed fluoropolymer coating (FA-MS) and Incralac protection, various electrochemical methods were used: measurements of open circuit potential linear polarisation and potentiodynamic measurements. Findings show that the FA-MS coating provides a protection efficiency of 71 % for chloride-patinated bronze and 99.5 % for sulphide-patinated bronze. Contact angles of the FA-MS samples were higher than those of the unprotected samples or the samples protected by Incralac, indicating better hydrophobic properties of the FA-MS coating.