Corrosion behaviour of brass from the Western Zhou Dynasty in an archaeological-corrosive medium

Abstract The electrolytic-accelerated corrosion behavior of brass alloys imitating the Western Zhou Dynasty in an archaeological-corrosive medium were investigated by electrochemical measurements and microscopy observations. The results indicated that the increase of copper content improved the corrosion resistance of the alloys in the archaeological-corrosive medium. The corrosion mechanism of brass alloys in this corrosive medium is controlled by a mixed corrosion with selective dissolution and dissolution-reduction. Chloride ions are bound to affect the dissolution behaviour of the alloy. The corrosion products formed on the alloy surface is mainly composed of copper oxide and insoluble copper chloride.