Plasma technology is a modern, non-conventional technique with a wide range of applications in various fields. Plasma-based material processing technology aims to modify the chemical and physical properties of metallic, polymer, textile, and dielectric surfaces. Plasma processing techniques include plasma etching, cleaning, plasma surface activation and functionalization, and plasma deposition. Plasma processing has attracted the attention of cultural heritage restoration due to its low temperature, selectivity, durability, and effectiveness. The goal of this work is to introduce readers to previous studies on the different uses of plasma-based technology in the conservation and restoration of metallic cultural and historical artifacts. It focuses on the role of the different plasma-based coating techniques especially plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for archaeological and artistic metallic artifacts that need reversible coatings with a pleasing aesthetic appearance and a good barrier effect against atmospheric pollution at low temperatures.
Due to its excellent adherence to the metal substrate, Hexamethyledisiloxan was employed in the present study to create transparent barrier coating films that protect metal artifacts from corrosion. The deposition procedure used radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD). Using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the surfaces of the deposited films were identified and characterized. Atomic force microscopy was used to examine surface topography and roughness (AFM). Water contact angle measurement was used to determine the hydrophobic property (WCA). Moreover, a spectroscopic ellipsometer was used to measure the film's thickness (SE). Following the Siloxane protective layer's PECVD deposition, colorimetric measurement (CM) was utilized to assess surface appearance alterations. Electr-ochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to study how siloxane coatings for metal substrates protect against corrosion as a function of RF power and gas input composition. It was found that the siloxane thin film's adhesion characteristics to the silver-copper alloy substrate were affected by the substrate pretreatment process and the consumed power during the deposition process.
In this study, siloxane has been used for the protection of metal artifacts from corrosion in the form of transparent barrier coating films because of their good adhesion to the metal substrate. The effect of oxygen plasma pre-treatment on the adhesion properties of the siloxane thin film on the silver-copper alloy substrate was investigated. Radiofrequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) was used for the deposition process. Surface identification and characterization of the deposited films were carried out using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Surface topography and roughness were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The hydrophobic characteristic was measured by water contact angle measurement (WCA). The film thickness was evaluated using a spectroscopic ellipsometer (SE). Colorimetric measurement (CM) was used to evaluate changes in the appearance of the surface following the PECVD deposition of the SiO2 protective layer. The corrosion protection ability of siloxane films for metal substrates as a function of RF power and gas feed composition was examined by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. It was found that the deposited film improved the protective efficiency for samples from 55.29 to 92.93%. Besides, after the oxygen plasma pretreatment step, the film showed better corrosion resistance of the tested samples.
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