Science Magazine, in its March 23, 2013 article, reports that ScienceShot: Atomic Science Keeps Silver Shining Bright.
Extract :
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Polishing
the silver may no longer be a common household chore, but it's still a
tedious part of the to-do list at many art museums. Armed with Q-tips, chemical
coatings, and lots of elbow grease, art conservators do constant battle with
tarnish, a thin layer of sulfide that forms on silver when it's exposed to
air. Constant polishing can wear down artifacts, however, and the protective
coatings now in use cover the objects unevenly and last less than 10
years—a short time for museums charged with preserving centuries-old
objects for future generations. Now, a group of materials scientists thinks
that it's hit upon a solution. Using a commercial technique called atomic
layer deposition (ALD), they coated pieces of silver
with layers of aluminum oxide only 1 atom thick. By gradually building up the
number of layers, the researchers could precisely control the thickness of
the film in the silver's every nook and cranny. One application of an ALD
coating could protect a silver artifact for more than 80
years
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