In-situ investigations of corrosion processes on glass and metal surfaces by scanning probe microscopy (SPM)

The corrosion of potash-lime-silica glass was observed in-situ by AFM (atomic force microscopy) for the first time. The topographic changes with time due to the interaction of a replica glass with the ambient atmosphere were studied. A comparison of dynamic mode AFM and static mode AFM has demonstrated their potential for the investigation of soft, sensitive specimens. A combination of both methods yielded a correlation between structural changes during the corrosion process and different corrosion products on glass. The activation of surface reactions by the tip touching the surface could be observed with dynamic mode AFM. In-situ sample preparation and introduction of a defined atmosphere consisting of nitrogen with adjustable amounts of relative humidity and varying contents of SO2 and NO2 allowed model studies of the atmospheric corrosion. A replica glass with medieval composition was used in order to investigate the impact of the above described conditions. Besides the influence of the relative humidity the effects of SO2 and NO2 as well as their, synergistic effects could be studied. The evaluation of the phase signal in dynamic mode AFM in addition to the topographic information allowed the identification of humid domains in and on corrosion products, respectively. The observed contrast and thus the adhesion forces, are mainly related to the different water coverage of the surface regions or the hydroscopic properties, respectively. Furthermore, the topographic changes of copper-nickel, and palladium surfaces exposed to humidified nitrogen with SO2 have been observed in-situ. Contrary to the assumption of the metal surfaces being covered by a homogeneous layer of corrosion products, distinct clusters of products could be observed. In case of different kinds of products these clusters were arranged adjacent to each other rather than in different stacked layers. (author)