Effect of SO₂ on Corrosion of Silver Artifact Materials in Museum Collection

The corrosion behavior and surface characteristics of silver artifact materials exposed to environments of different SO₂ concentrations, relative humidity and temperatures were investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) reactivity monitoring method combined with scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Raman spectroscopy surface analysis techniques. The results show that the frequency of silver-plated quartz crystals exposed to different environments decreased and eventually stabilized with the increase of time. SO₂ gas could promote the corrosion of silver, and the corrosion rate increased with the increase of its content. The increase of temperature and relative humidity also aggravated the corrosion of SO₂ on silver. In the SO₂-containing environment, corrosion products of Ag₂O, Ag₂SO₃ and Ag₂SO₄ were formed on the silver surface.