Morphologies and Characterization of Corrosion on Bronze Weapon Excavated from Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum, China

The corrosion morphologies and characterization of bronze spear and bronze sword, excavated from Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum, China, were examined by using scanning electron microscope, optical microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. The results show that the microstructures of both bronze spear and bronze sword were composed of three distinction layers, including completely mineralized layer, transition layer and core original material. However, the rust degree of the bronze sword with higher Sn element content was milder than that of the bronze spear, which was owing to the corrosion-resistance of ancient bronze could be increased with the increase of Sn element content when they were buried in the same conditions. In addition, the bronze spear and bronze sword were also discussed and proposed to be embedded in a little chlorine environment.