Analysing the structure and glass transition behaviour of silks for archaeology and conservation

Abstract

Silk is an iconic material in many cultures. Silk archaeology and conservation is affected by silk production technology as well as subsequent environmental effects such as humidity, temperature, UV radiation and ageing The complex interactions and various effects on silk materials affect the practical use of silk, for example, in the conservation of ancient manuscripts. This study examines the various influences of silk provenance and processing, adhesive coatings and chemical treatments as well as natural and artificial ageing of the silk material. We use infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis to investigate the glass transition behaviours in a range of archaeological and control silk samples. This allows us to establish structural differences in century-old museum silks and predict the effects of silk ageing and degradation.

Molecular Evidence of Structural Changes in Silk Using Unlimited Degradation Mass Spectrometry

“…Silk is a typical protein fiber that has three characteristic regions, amide I (1700–1600 cm –1 ), amide II (1600–1500 cm –1 ) and amide III (1300–1180 cm –1 ), in its FTIR spectrum. The amide I band is highly sensitive to small variations in molecular geometry and hydrogen bonding patterns, and each type of secondary structure gives rise to a different CO stretching frequency . It is therefore especially useful for the analysis of the secondary structure composition and conformational changes of proteins.…”

“…The amide I band is highly sensitive to small variations in molecular geometry and hydrogen bonding patterns, and each type of secondary structure gives rise to a different C=O stretching frequency. 28 It is therefore especially useful for the analysis of the secondary structure composition and conformational changes of proteins. According to previous reports, 29 – 31 the bands between 1700 and 1656 cm –1 are attributed to proteins with α-helical components.…”

Research on Digital Restoration of Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown of Mawangdui Han Dynasty Tomb Based on AHP and Human–Computer Interaction Technology

“…From the perspective of scientific and technological archeology, this paper studied the structure, color, fabric and pattern of the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown and combined pattern-making technology of human-computer interaction and virtual simulation technology to digitally restore the Plain Unlined Silk Gauze Gown. Compared with traditional silk fabric protection technology [8,9], the color of the clothes produced by virtual simulation is more vivid and durable. Compared with the traditional digital restoration of rigid cultural relics [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], the research method combining reverse engineering and virtual simulation proposed in this paper provides a reference for the digital restoration of flexible cultural relics.…”

“…Although they are maintained by professionals, silk fabrics, as polymer materials, are vulnerable to light, heat, chemistry, biology, machinery and other factors, resulting in changes of in-hand feel, strength and color. Wang et al studied the silk in the British Museum collection and developed the DMTA method for the conservation of ancient silk [8]. Garside et al studied the influence of common silk weighing processes in Europe from the late 19th century to the early 20th century on the aging behavior of silk, so as to provide a scheme for the preventive protection of silk fabrics with historical collection significance [9].…”