I-Corps: Atomic Layer Deposited Films for Protection of Precious Silver Objects

文化遗产机构的客户，无论是大小设施，如大都会艺术博物馆，都持有数千件银器在他们的照顾下。目前的防腐方法包括手动应用聚合物硝化纤维素，这种方法可以保护物体10-20年，根据物体的大小和复杂程度，每个物体可能需要3到40个小时以上。相对较短的薄膜寿命和较长的应用过程使博物馆拥有数以千计的银质物品，要么更换塑料涂层，要么让许多物品不受保护。由i-Corps团队开发的拟议的原子层沉积(ALD)涂层预计将满足博物馆、档案馆和图书馆等文化遗产机构以及工匠或珠宝零售商等精品银饰制造商的严格要求。ALD薄膜将允许对文化遗产对象进行长期保护，因为它们保护银的时间远远长于目前的涂层技术，采用硝酸纤维素膜。通过减少变色量和抛光频率，对象可以在不损失原始表面细节的情况下保存更长时间。这笔i-Corps赠款将允许ALD涂层技术转移到文化遗产和博物馆保护社区。作为这项技术转让的一部分，该团队还将更好地了解ALD金属氧化物薄膜如何影响衬底的化学结构和视觉特性。虽然ALD薄膜应用于清洁、平坦的2D表面是众所周知的，但关于使用ALD薄膜对经过预先表面处理的粗糙的3D对象的影响的研究工作很少。通过i-Corps计划获得的知识和经验将通过与马里兰大学克拉克工程学院工程、创业和创新计划以及Hinman CEO计划举办的研讨会与其他潜在的企业家和学生分享。这次研讨会将进一步向马里兰大学其他有创业精神的学生传播通过i-Corps获得的知识。

Customers in cultural heritage institutions, both large and small facilities, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, hold thousands of silver objects under their care. The current method for corrosion protection includes the manual application of polymeric nitrocellulose, which protects objects for 10-20 years and can take 3 to 40 more hours per object depending on its size and complexity. The relatively short film lifetime and long application process leaves museums with thousands of silver objects in a constant cycle of replacing plastic coatings or leaving many objects unprotected. The proposed atomic layer deposited (ALD) coating developed by this I-Corps team is expected to fulfill the rigorous requirements required by cultural heritage institutions such as museums, archives and libraries, and fine silver jewelry manufacturers such as artisans or jewelry retailers.ALD films will allow for the long term protection of cultural heritage objects, as they protect silver significantly longer than the current coating technology, applying nitrocellulose films. By reducing the amount of tarnishing and frequency of polishing, objects can be preserved longer without loss of original surface details. This I-Corps grant will allow ALD coating technology to be transferred to the cultural heritage and museum conservation community. As part of this technology transfer, the team will also develop a better understanding of how ALD metal oxide films affect the chemical structure and visual characteristics of the substrate. While ALD films applied to clean, flat, 2D surfaces is well understood, little work has been completed on the effect of using ALD films on rough, 3D objects with prior surface treatments. The knowledge and experience gained through the I-CORPS program will be shared with other potential entrepreneurs and students through a proposed seminar with the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, and Hinman CEOs program. This seminar would further disseminate the knowledge gained through I-CORPS to other entrepreneurially-minded students at the University of Maryland.