Mapping of corrosion products of highly altered archeological iron using voltammetry of microparticles

The application of the voltammetry of microparticles to identify corrosion products on different localizations of highly altered archeological iron pieces is described. The use of graphite pencil methodology permits to mapping different corrosion products, namely. akaganeite, goethite, hematite. jarosite, magnetite, maghemite and siderite, in iron artifacts. Identification protocols are based on square wave voltammetric measurements performed at sample-modified paraffin-impregnated graphite electrodes immersed into aqueous HCl. This methodology is applied for mapping corrosion products on an Iberian-Roman shield boss from the Torre la Sal archeological site (Oropesa. Spain) dated in the IVth century BC. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.