Early stages of glass alteration in the coastal atmosphere

Abstract

Urban and industrial atmospheres can produce several damages on glass façades and historical stained-glass windows; however, the effect of coastal atmosphere on them has been scarcely studied. This work presents the results of the exposure of soda-lime, potash-lime, and mixedalkali silicate glass to the coastal atmosphere in Cape Vilán (Galicia, Spain) at different distances to the coast (inland) during twelve months. Crystalline deposits were observed on all the samples, although their quantity depended on the meteorological conditions. The samples located nearest to the coast presented alteration layers, while those ones located farthest from the shore presented several isolated pits. Regarding the chemical composition, potashlime silicate glass, typical composition from medieval glass windows, was the most altered glass in contrast to soda-lime and mixed-alkali silicate glasses.

Impact of solar radiation and environmental temperature on Art Nouveau glass windows

“…Protective glazing is formed by float glasses (soda-lime silicate glass) with a high resistance to environmental alteration [11,12,60], which creates a physical barrier between the historical stained-glass windows and the environmental weather (rain, wind, pollution…). The protective glazing also decreases the amplitude of the temperature along the day, which carries the reduction of the thermal shocks, the risk of condensation, and the dilatation of the window materials [38,[61][62][63][64][65][66].…”

“…Rain and pollution are the environmental factors that contribute most for the glass alteration [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]; nevertheless, temperature has also a significant role [13][14][15][16][17]. From the physical point of view, solar radiation can induce the movement of the stained-glass windows due to the dilatation of the different materials [14].…”

Environmental degradation of Modern non-balanced glasses

“…In an outdoor environment, the rainwater can wash the leached ions (alkaline, alkaline-earth and hydroxyl ions) from the glass surface. The removal of hydroxyl ions favors the maintenance of a neutral pH in the glass surface (Palomar et al 2019). In addition, during the drought periods, the alkaline ions leached from the glass can react with the atmospheric gases (CO 2 , SO 2 , NO X ), solubilized in rainwater to form crystalline deposits (Reaction 3) (Melcher and Schreiner 2006).…”

“…Even, the accumulation of deposits raised the dealkalinized areas that caused their detachment [figure 1 b]. The morphology of the cavity, with conchoidal form, most aggressive ones are rain, wind, pollution, and aerosols (Woisetschläger et al 2000;Munier et al 2002;Melcher and Schreiner 2005;Melcher et al 2008;Gentaz et al 2011;Lombardo et al 2014;Palomar et al 2018;Palomar et al 2019). In an indoor environment, these alteration agents are minimized; however, high environmental humidity and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mainly the formic acid from the wood of the furniture, can accelerate the alteration mechanism.…”

ToF-SIMS depth profiling of altered glass

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In particular, silicate glass corrosion work is of great interest for heritage material conservation, 16,17 geochemistry, 18 and nuclear waste management. 19,20 Some examples are curators in museums who are confronted with patrimonial object degradation and conservation, 21,22 glass industries that aim to produce resistant glass composition for glassware 23 and building, 24 and medical applications that require highly soluble glasses for drug delivery. 25 Meanwhile, many countries such as France, Japan, the UK, and the USA have selected borosilicate glass as a confinement matrix for the most hazardous nuclear wastes.…”