UniFe
UNIVERSITY OF FERRARA
The staff of the UniFE unit belongs to the Engineering Department of the University of Ferrara and is part of the TekneHub laboratory for the conservation and promotion of the Cultural Heritage.
The supervisor of UniFE unit coordinates the national project by promoting regular meetings and cooperation between different units and by assessing the advancement degree of the research in comparison with the previously planned program. UniFE is also responsible or participates to the following project activities:
Selection of corrosion inhibitors applied as prefilming agents in chloride solutions and concentrated acid rain. The most efficient prefilming treatment is based on a silane film characterized by a more pronounced protective effect as room temperature crosslinking time before exposure to the aggressive environment increases.
Evaluating the ability of nanoparticles to improve protectiveness of silane coatings. The protectiveness was evaluated in chloride solutions, in tenfold concentrated acid rain and in acid rain spray cabinet test. The positive effect of nanoparticles is less pronounced in acid rain than in 3.5% NaCl, which turns out to be less aggressive than the concentrated acid rain. Ceria nanoparticles seem to improve the protective properties of silane.
Evaluation of the protectiveness of silane coatings in the absence and in the presence of nanoparticles on a bronze statue exposed to atmospheric corrosion. In situ electrochemical impedance measurements evidence that the silane film containing ceria nanoparticles is more protective than pure silane, which is more protective of silane film containing lanthania nanoparticles.
Evaluation of the efficiency of prefilming inhibitors and silane in reducing the activity of bronze-gold galvanic couple which is present in gilded bronze. The application of the silane stifles the current of galvanic coupling between bronze and gold, especially if the application is conducted on both metals and if the crosslinking time of silane increases.
