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Multiple-scan voltammetry of immobilized particles of ancient copper/bronze coins

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Abstract

The application of a multiple-scan strategy to study the structure of the corrosion patina of copper/bronze ancient objects using the voltammetry of immobilized microparticles (VIMP) is described. Upon nanosample attachment to graphite electrodes in contact with aqueous acetate buffer, voltammetric signatures characterizing cuprite with variable degree of crystallinity are recorded by means of successive cathodic scans reflecting the composition of the corrosion patina. The reported methodology, complemented with ion beam-field emission scanning electron microscopy (FIB-FESEM) and high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (HRFESM-EDX), is applied to a set of coins fabricated between 1709 and 1962 revealing different corrosion patterns.

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Acknowledgments

Project CTQ2017-85317-C2-1-P, supported with Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF) and Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI), is gratefully acknowledged. The authors wish to thank Mr. Manuel Planes, Dr. José Luis Moya and Alicia Nuez Imbernón technical supervisors of the Electron Microscopy Service of the Polytechnical University of Valencia.  

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Química Analítica, Universitat de València, Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100 Burjassot, València, Spain

    Antonio Doménech-Carbó

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Università Cà Foscari Venezia, Via Torino 155, 30172, Mestre-Venezia, Italy

    Margherita Donnici & Salvatore Daniele

  3. Institut de Restauració del Patrimoni, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera 14, 46022, València, Spain

    Carla Álvarez-Romero & María Teresa Doménech-Carbó

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  1. Antonio Doménech-Carbó
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  2. Margherita Donnici
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  3. Carla Álvarez-Romero
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  4. Salvatore Daniele
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  5. María Teresa Doménech-Carbó
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Correspondence to Antonio Doménech-Carbó.

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Doménech-Carbó, A., Donnici, M., Álvarez-Romero, C. et al. Multiple-scan voltammetry of immobilized particles of ancient copper/bronze coins. J Solid State Electrochem 25, 195–206 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-020-04770-4

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