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Understanding the jade corrosion mechanisms is essential to ensure their good preservation state and long lives. An important jade incense burner in a museum collection was found to be severely corroded. By employing multiple analytical methods, including scanning electron microscopy energy spectrum, X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and ion chromatography, the jade material and surface corrosion products were systematically studied. Our results showed that the matrix of the jade was mainly composed of brucite, while magnesium formate hydrate (C2H2MgO4•2H2O) was the main component of the corrosion products. Formic and acetic acid pollutant vapors emitted from wood were determined to be a cause of the corrosion. Accelerated corrosion experiments simulating volatile organic acid environments reproduced the corrosion process successfully, and a mechanism of jade corrosion in museum environments was established. It highlights the importance of replacing wooden cabinets by modern pollution-free containers, especially for susceptible historical objects.
Details
1 National Museum of China, Preservation & Conservation Institute, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.500608.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0386 7291)
2 University of Science and Technology of China, Department for the History of Science and Scientific Archaeology, Hefei, China (GRID:grid.59053.3a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2167 9639)
3 National Museum of China, Preservation & Conservation Institute, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.500608.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0386 7291); Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Archaeology, Beijing, China (GRID:grid.418560.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0368 8015)