Abstract

An integrated project with the objective of reducing the tarnishing of silver in museum collections has three research components: (I) to develop, validate and deploy passive samplers for the quantification of the relevant pollutant gases (hydrogen sulphide, H2S, and carbonyl sulphide, OCS); (2) to identify and evaluate suitable transparent polymer systems which can provide effective sealed pouches for storage of silver; (3) to synthesize, characterize and test new absorbents to remove these pollutant gases from showcases. Passive samplers for H2S and OCS gases have been developed and both have undergone laboratory validation. The passive sampler for H2S has been deployed in four museums in The Netherlands; the H2S concentrations span the range 0-1000 parts per trillion and show considerable variation depending on the season and the site. A standard method has been developed for the preparation of silver test coupons for assessing the development of silver tarnish in laboratory experiments and in museum display cases. Novel absorbents have been synthesized, characterized and tested for their efficacy in removing H2S pollution from museum showcases. The absorbents were considerably more effective at H2S removal than commercial absorbents tested under the same laboratory conditions. A range of commercial polymer films has been selected, on the basis of their specified low permeability to oxygen, for evaluation as H2S barriers, and preliminary laboratory permeability studies have been carried out.

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