AFMassessment of the surfacenano/microstructure on chemicallydamagedhistorical and modelglasses

Abstract

Surface chemical damage on selected historicalglasses from 13th to 19th centuries was evaluated by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nano- and microstructure, roughness and topography of ancient glass samples have been compared with those of modelglasses prepared by conventional melting at the laboratory with similar compositions to those most frequently found in historicalglass pieces. The results obtained allow discussing the chemical degradation mechanisms in terms of the acid and/or basic chemical attack carried out by the combination of gaseous pollutants and environmental humidity. Even though deep corrosion features escape to the observation order of magnitude of the AF microscope used, the AFM technique proves to be quite useful for the study and evaluation of the most common surface pathologies of historicalglasses with different compositions once submitted to natural weathering.