Evaluation of the weathered Japanese roof tiles of Himeji Castle (3). Elemental mapping of the surface carbon films by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Japanese roof tiles weathered for 50 years on Himeji Castle have been evaluated by elemental mapping in the C K, O K, Ca L, and Fe L regions by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. From the C K-mapping, it can be found that carbon films coated on the roof tiles were partially peeled off by weathering. The O K-mapping revealed the oxidation of the carbon films. From the Fe L-mapping, it can be confirmed that Fe oxides partially exist on the oxidized carbon films. This suggests that the Fe oxides can appear from the sintered clay base layers through pinholes or small peeled area of carbon films. (author)