Benzene and toluene influence with or without nitrogen dioxide on inorganic pigments of works of art

The interaction of benzene and toluene on five known pigments, namely ZnO, PbO, Fe2O3 Cr2O3 and TiO2 has been studied, in the presence as well as in the absence of nitrogen dioxide. The following physicochemical constants have been determined and therefore the materials’ behaviour in such a polluted atmosphere is concluded: (1) the dynamic adsorption rate constant of the analyte pollutant, describing its experimental isotherm on the surface of the material varying with the time; (2) the desorption rate constant of the pollutant from the solid surface; (3) the rate constant of a possible surface reaction of the adsorbed analyte (first or pseudo-first order); (4) the overall deposition velocity of the pollutant; (5) the reaction probability of the pollutant on the material; and (6) the apparent rate constant of a possible chemical reaction of each aromatic pollutant with nitrogen dioxide, taking place above the material and simultaneously with the heterogeneous one. The contribution of the above parameters to the elucidation of the mechanism of deterioration of various works of art in museums is significant, as one can see.