Science Nation: "Silver Saver": Nanotechnology Keeps the Shine on Silver

Scientists from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, have teamed up with conservators from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Md., to develop and test a new, high-tech way to protect silver art objects and artifacts, using coatings that are mere nanometers thick.

The technique, called atomic layer deposition (ALD), will be used to create metal oxide films which, when applied to an artifact, are both transparent and optimized to reduce the rate of silver corrosion.

The project is funded by the NSF's SCIART grant program, which supports research in the field of cultural heritage science through the funding of collaborations among conservation experts in museums and scientists in academia.

In April 2011 the National Science Foundation's Science Nation web site, which highlights scientific discoveries for the public, debuted this video segment about the project called "Silver Saver," narrated by former CNN chief technology and environment correspondent Miles O'Brien.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• nanotechnology
• materials science
• silver
• tarnish
• atomic layer deposition
• ALD
• conservation
• museum
• art
• artifact