CORROSION INHIBITION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS COPPER ALLOY AT DIFFERENT CONDITIONS

Corrosion poses a major threat to metallic antiquities in museums, particularly copper artifacts. This study investigates corrosion in copper alloys from the Al-Kafeel Museum, Iraq, analyzing environmental factors such as sulfates, chlorides, and moisture. The research comprises two parts: in acidic conditions, Rosmarinus extract was tested as a corrosion inhibitor in 3.5% NaCl at 30–50 °C. Results show up to 90% inhibition efficiency at 4 g/L, with corrosion decreasing as inhibitor concentration increased. In dry conditions, corrosion was evaluated under varying sulfate concentrations (5–30 ppm) and humidity levels over 360 hours. Corrosion increased with humidity and sulfate levels but was fully inhibited using 1 g/L PMT. These findings offer effective preservation strategies for historical copper artifacts.