Agar versus Agarose Gelled Electrolyte for In Situ Corrosion Studies on Metallic Cultural Heritage

Abstract The use of gelled electrolytes has revealed an interesting solution for in situ electrochemical measures on cultural heritage, where liquid electrolytes cannot be easily handled. After developing an agar gelled electrolyte cell, other gelling agents such as agarose are being considered to improve it. In this work, the performance of agarose gels in different concentrations has been studied and compared to agar and a liquid electrolyte. Measurements have been done on patinated quaternary bronze and weathering steel, as representative materials of outdoor monuments. Agarose gels have been validated for in situ corrosion studies on bronze and weathering steel sculptures.