Development of anticorrosive and antibacterial coatings for preservation of glass heritage objects

The novelty of the current research consists in development of thin films of SiO2-ZnO that can be deposited on the surface of historical glass objects to protect them against corrosion. As it is known the protection solutions must be tested on model samples in order not to damage heritage objects. The value of glass objects is given by their transparency and color. In order to study influence of corrosion on the heritage objects, samples with similar composition were synthesized. The complex compositions of glass heritage objects were considered in the article. The historical glass objects contain small quantities of oxides of transitional elements as Cr, Cu, Ag, Mn, Fe, which gave them the beautiful colors but have negative influence on their resistance at weathering [1], [2]. SiO2-ZnO vitreous materials were obtained by sol–gel method and the coverage of glasses was made by dip-coating. The films must have a vitreous structure as well as objects that are protected. The SiO2-ZnO materials were investigated by infrared spectroscopy in order to identify their vitreous structure. SEM/EDAX measurements were performed to investigate the morphology of model glasses and coated ones before and after acid attack. The chemical resistance tests in acid media were followed according standard STAS 598/3-76 and the glass samples shown an increase of anticorrosive properties after coating. A problem of organic coatings used for protection in the past was the development of bacteria at the interface. The second objective of the study was to investigate the effects of SiO2-ZnO based materials toward Escherichia coli cells. The results demonstrate that the SiO2-ZnO coatings protect glasses against corrosion and E-coli cells development.