Assessing of New Coatings for Iron Artifacts Conservation by Recurrence Plots Analysis

Abstract

Cast iron has stood for centuries of invention. It is a very versatile and durable material. Coating systems are a low-maintenance protection method. The purpose of this research is to increase the Paraloid coating’s resistance when applied to iron in high humidity atmospheres, with the addition of caffeine (1,3,7-dimethylxanthine) and nicotine (S)-3-(1-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl) pyridine as corrosion inhibitors; the resistance of protection versus exposure time will be evaluated by using electrochemical noise. A statistical analysis of the electrochemical noise signals was carried out. Recurrence plots were used as a powerful tool in the analysis to complement the data obtained and they predicted the evaluation of coatings behaviors performance versus time. The outcomes show that the addition of inhibitors increases and improves the performance as a temporary protection of Paraloid and that protection in high relative humidity was improved. Recurrence plots and parameter quantification show the variances in the surface corrosion dynamics.