A crude protective film on historic stones and its artificial preparation through biomimetic synthesis

A biomimetic film has been found on the surface of the historic stone buildings and monuments. The stone inscriptions under the film are preserved so well that has not been damaged for more than 1000 years. Samples of the crude film have been analyzed by XRD, FTIR, PLM, EDA, SEM and TEM. The results show that it consists mainly of calcium oxalate monohydrate. On the basis of the existence of the organism debris, it is concluded that the film should be a product of biomineralization. According to this hypothesis, a similar film has been prepared on the stone surface through biomimetic synthesis in our laboratory. The preliminary analysis shows that the artificial protective film functions well.