Sustainability in art conservation: a novel bio-based organogel for the cleaning of water sensitive works of art

Prati, Silvia; Volpi, Francesca; Fontana, Raffaella; Galletti, Paola; Giorgini, Loris; Mazzeo, Rocco; Mazzocchetti, Laura; Samorì, Chiara; Sciutto, Giorgia; Tagliavini, Emilio

doi:10.1515/pac-2017-0507

Cited by 45 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…We used FT-LSI to measure this combined effect of diffusion and evaporation of acetone, ethanol, isopropanol, dimethyl carbonate (DMC), ethyl lactate (EL), γ-valerolactone (γ-VL) and n-hexane. Acetone, ethanol, isopropanol and hexanes are widely used in conservation studios, whereas DMC, EL and γ-VL have recently been suggested as green alternatives for varnish removal 29,51 .…”

Section: Comparison Of Solventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying solvent action in oil paint using portable laser speckle imaging

Baij

Buijs

Hermans

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The exposure of oil paintings to organic solvents for varnish removal or to water for the removal of surface dirt can affect the chemical and physical properties of oil paint in an undesired way. Solvents can temporarily plasticise and swell the polymerised oil paint binding medium, enhancing both the thermal mobility and mechanical displacement of pigments embedded in this film. The enhancement of these microscopic motions can affect both the chemical and physical stability of the object as a whole. In order to minimise solvent exposure during cleaning, an analytical method that can quantitatively measure the microscopic motions induced by solvent uptake, is required first. In this study, we use Fourier Transform Laser Speckle Imaging (FT-LSI) and a newly developed portable FT-LSI setup as highly resolved motion detection instruments. We employ FT-LSI to probe pigment motion, with high spatiotemporal resolution, as a proxy for the destabilising effects of cleaning solvents. In this way, we can study solvent diffusion and evaporation rates and the total solvent retention time. In addition, qualitative spatial information on the spreading and homogeneity of the applied solvent is obtained. We study mobility in paint films caused by air humidity, spreading of solvents as a result of several cleaning methods and the protective capabilities of varnish. Our results show that FT-LSI is a powerful technique for the study of solvent penetration during oil paint cleaning and has a high potential for future use in the conservation studio.

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Section: Comparison Of Solventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying solvent action in oil paint using portable laser speckle imaging

Baij

Buijs

Hermans

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…They will be addressed along with gels efficiency evaluations on different substrates (e.g. paint and tapestry) [29,30] in a future ongoing work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An innovative and sustainable approach to spray paint graffiti removal from Istrian stone through the silica sol-gel chemistry: A preliminary assessment

Musolino

Aricò

Tundo

2019

Journal of Cultural Heritage

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A sustainable methodology to synthesise and screen new libraries of low-environmental impact products, suitable for removing graffiti and murals from historic building, masonries and stone artworks has been developed. This approach provided a novel series of two-component systems by combining silica sol-gel chemistry and dimethyl carbonate. The solid matrixes were hybrid silica gels synthesised in basic conditions by using ethylene and propylene glycols as organic co-solvents. Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) was the green organic solvent to load into the gel. The efficiency of three new systems in adsorbing/trapping commercial red aerosol spray paint was investigated through an ad hoc test tube extraction evaluation and on mock stained samples of Istrian stones. Data provided by NMR spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy led to the identification of a promising cleaning agent, paving the way to its full characterisation and features improvement.

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“…This result can be explained by the less controlled action of BD, which was not confined to the gel matrix, and by a less effective cleaning action of the neat solvent. The evaluation of solvent retention by the treated surface is a crucial point in the development of new cleaning systems [21]. Indeed, the persistence of solvent on the treated surfaces may led to harmful interaction, alterating the substrate and inducing further corrosion phenomenas.…”

Section: Evaluation the Cleaning Efficacy And Biodiesel Residualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To introduce powerful and sustainable alternatives for cleaning artworks, we have recently proposed new biocompatible cleaning systems for paintings based on the use of fully green components [20,21]. In particular, in the previous researches we have demonstrated the efficiency of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)-based gels with γ-valerolactone (GVL) as solvent, for the removal of terpenic and synthetic varnishes from oil and water sensitive egg tempera paintings [20,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new bio-based organogel for the removal of wax coating from indoor bronze surfaces

et al. 2019

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In this research, we propose an advanced system for the cleaning of wax-based coatings applied on indoor bronzes. To this aim we developed a new kind of eco-friendly gel based on PHB (poly-3-hydroxybutyrate) used as thickening agent, biodiesel (BD) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC). BD is a mixture of methyl esters obtained from palm oil, which acts as cleaning agent while DMC was added as additional solvent to partially solubilize PHB and forming a gelly phase. For the first time a PHB-based gel obtained by mixing two solvents with different proprieties was proposed, expanding the range of possible formulations, that can be used according to the specific restoration purpose. After the preliminary characterization of chemical and physical properties of the gel, an ad hoc analytical protocol was implemented to evaluate both the cleaning efficiency and the release of residues on the treated surfaces. Standard samples were prepared following ancient recipes and submitted to spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis before and after the cleaning procedures. Finally, the performances of PHB-DMC/BD gel were assessed on a real case of study presenting a wax-based coating: the Pulpito della passione attributed to Donatello and dated back to 1460. In situ analysis demonstrated the high cleaning efficiency of the proposed systems also for the removal of aged coatings.

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Sustainability in art conservation: a novel bio-based organogel for the cleaning of water sensitive works of art

Cited by 45 publications

References 28 publications

Quantifying solvent action in oil paint using portable laser speckle imaging

Quantifying solvent action in oil paint using portable laser speckle imaging

An innovative and sustainable approach to spray paint graffiti removal from Istrian stone through the silica sol-gel chemistry: A preliminary assessment

A new bio-based organogel for the removal of wax coating from indoor bronze surfaces

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