Silver thin films (10 nm of thickness) are widely used in the glass industry for their high performance for thermal insulation of buildings. However, they are prone to deteriorate due to corrosion during the transport and storage. The aim of this thesis is to better understand the sulphidation mechanisms of silver thin films, in HS- containing aqueous solutions, with a model system Ag/Ti/SiO2, prepared by PVD. Electrochemical behavior, surface structure modifications, kinetics aspects and surface chemistry were investigated at macroscopic and atomic scales. An electrochemical behavior which is similar to that of thicker films has been observed. The mechanism of 2D sulphur adsorption on a single crystal Ag(111) in 1 mM Na2S + 0.1 M NaOH has been explored by EC-STM. (2√3 × 2√3)R.30°, (√3 × √3)R.30° and (√7 × √7)R.19° superstructures are formed with potential-driven increasing uptake of sulphur up to saturation. The terraces edges (steps) appear as preferential reaction sites, and by extrapolating to polycristalline films preferentially oriented (111), grain boundaries could play this role. The kinetics of the spontaneous formation of silver sulphide at open circuit potential (OCP) has been followed in situ by EQCM. The average growth rate of Ag2S is estimated to be 750 ng.cm-2.min-1. The formation of 3D sulphide islands has been demonstrated: the surface coverage of sulphur increase until around 85%, while the islands grow in height. The sulphidation increases the surface roughness and destroys the initial stratified structure of the stack
Corrosion mechanisms of silver thin films in sulfide environment