TY - GEN
T1 - Novel surface-attached gels from photo-crosslinkable polyacrylamides for the cleaning of works of art
AU - Mateescu, Anca
AU - Freese, Silvia
AU - Frank, Petra
AU - Jonas, Ulrich
AU - Theodorakopoulos, Charis
PY - 2017/10/31
Y1 - 2017/10/31
N2 - The application of gel materials in modern procedures for the cleaning of works of art has gained increasing interest in recent years due to their improved handling and control over liquid cleaning media, but remaining issues relate to control over excessive liquid volume and the avoidance of residue contamination, specifically surfactants, at the artwork surface. In the present study we introduce a novel hydrogel film system, which is covalently attached to a flexible polyethylene backing and which contains covalently bound surfactant residues in its polymer network. The hydrogel system is based on a polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymer and incorporates ethoxylate surfactant monomers derived from Triton X-100 (yielding PAMX copolymer) and Brij35 (yielding PAMB), respectively. These hydrogel film systems were either loaded with an aqueous solution containing free Triton X-100, or with an aqueous medium buffered at pH 5.0 without free surfactant. The swollen films were then applied in a similar way like sticky tape to the surfaces of aged and soiled mastic, dammar, shellac and polycyclohexanone varnishes. Detachment of the hydrogel films form the substrates led to efficient removal of soils and revealed smooth surfaces comparable to unsoiled resin. Besides adhesion of soils to the hydrogel surface, which was found to be characteristic for the surface-attached gel technology, water desorption from the swollen polymer network to the varnish surfaces was rapid without excessive liquid volume being transferred. Stereo-, optical and scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet fluorescence imaging corroborated the large potential of the developed film systems for residue-free, liquid-minimizing cleaning applications.
AB - The application of gel materials in modern procedures for the cleaning of works of art has gained increasing interest in recent years due to their improved handling and control over liquid cleaning media, but remaining issues relate to control over excessive liquid volume and the avoidance of residue contamination, specifically surfactants, at the artwork surface. In the present study we introduce a novel hydrogel film system, which is covalently attached to a flexible polyethylene backing and which contains covalently bound surfactant residues in its polymer network. The hydrogel system is based on a polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymer and incorporates ethoxylate surfactant monomers derived from Triton X-100 (yielding PAMX copolymer) and Brij35 (yielding PAMB), respectively. These hydrogel film systems were either loaded with an aqueous solution containing free Triton X-100, or with an aqueous medium buffered at pH 5.0 without free surfactant. The swollen films were then applied in a similar way like sticky tape to the surfaces of aged and soiled mastic, dammar, shellac and polycyclohexanone varnishes. Detachment of the hydrogel films form the substrates led to efficient removal of soils and revealed smooth surfaces comparable to unsoiled resin. Besides adhesion of soils to the hydrogel surface, which was found to be characteristic for the surface-attached gel technology, water desorption from the swollen polymer network to the varnish surfaces was rapid without excessive liquid volume being transferred. Stereo-, optical and scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet fluorescence imaging corroborated the large potential of the developed film systems for residue-free, liquid-minimizing cleaning applications.
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9781909492509
SP - 237
EP - 244
BT - Gels in the conservation of art
A2 - Angelova, Lora V
A2 - Ormsby, Bronwyn
A2 - Townsend, Joyce H
A2 - Wolbers, Richard
PB - Archetype Publications
CY - London
T2 - Gels in the Conservation of Art
Y2 - 16 October 2017 through 18 October 2017
ER -