Abstract
Initiated by the concern in several countries regarding the release of copper from, e.g., roofs, facings and other outdoor constructions, the present study aims to compare runoff rates with corrosion rates during exposure of copper in an urban atmosphere. The copper runoff rate turns out to be relatively stable during the 2 year period studied, with an average rate per year of around 135 μg Cu cm −2. This stable runoff rate is associated with the formation and dissolution properties of cuprite (Cu 2O), which is the dominating copper patina phase throughout the 2 year period. The copper corrosion rate, on the other hand, is highly time-dependent. It exhibits an initially high value and decreases with exposure time. As a consequence, the ratio between copper runoff and copper mass loss is very low in the beginning, around 7% after 1 month, and increases with time to reach around 22% after 2 years. With prolonged exposure this ratio eventually reaches 100%, corresponding to a copper patina thickness that does not change any further with time.
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