Influence of relative humidity and ozone on atmospheric silver corrosion

[Display omitted] •Corrosion mechanisms of silver exposed to synthetic air, relative humidity and O3 were studied.•All experiments were performed at room temperature (22°C) and atmospheric pressure.•Chemical, morphological and structural compositions of the corrosion products were identified.•Silver is oxidized by ozone forming Ag2O/AgO(AgIAgIIIO2) surface species.•Silver is most susceptible to ozone oxidation at 50% RH. The interaction of highly pure polycrystalline silver samples with ozone (500ppb) was investigated under certain relative humidity (RH) content (0%, 50% and 90%) in synthetic air. All experiments were performed at room temperature (22°C) and atmospheric pressure. Highly surface sensitive methods were used to investigate chemical, morphological and structural changes and composition of the corrosion products formed at different RH and reaction times. Silver is oxidized by ozone forming Ag2O/AgO(AgIAgIIIO2) surface species. The oxide formation and corrosion rate is dependent on the RH content in the atmosphere, showing that silver is most susceptible to ozone oxidation at 50% RH.