Sustainable conservation of bronzes artworks: advanced researches in materials science

The development of non toxic, reliable and long-lasting materials and the design of tailored methods for the conservation of bronzes artworks are today a mandatory demand. The presently used hazardous materials and processes need to be replaced by environmental-friendly approaches, due to the increasing importance of the environmental protection and the safety of professionals in the conservation of Cultural Heritage. Long-term stability of Cu-based archaeological artworks is deeply affected by the nearly constant presence of chlorine in the corrosion layers that could induce the active cyclic copper corrosion known as "Bronze disease". The stabilization of ancient bronzes is performed by a benzotriazole (BTA) alcoholic solution, which unfortunately is toxic and a suspected carcinogen. In order to reduce or overcome the toxicity of BTA, we adopted different tailored strategies of chemical research. Novel chemically synthesized and naturally-derived products and suitable nanocarriers of corrosion inhibitors were purposely designed and tested by X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with chemical analysis (SEM-EDS), Optical microscopy, DC polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)