Nano meets the sheet: adhesive-free application of nanocellulosic suspensions in paper conservation

Abstract

Historical papers are often locally damaged by exogenous influences and/or have endogenously degraded paper areas. The stabilization of such papers is very important because further use of the object can cause additional damage. Different types of nanocellulose are interesting as a novel stabilizing materials for paper due to their close structural relation to the paper matrix. Therefore, the present study investigated whether the treatment of historical papers with nanocellulose suspensions is a novel method for paper stabilization. Two different types of nanocelluloses, bacterial cellulose and a mechanically nanofibrillated cellulose based on wood pulp, were tested with regard to their performance in stabilizing fragile papers. Concerning material handling and application in conservation steps, different ways to modify the suspensions were tested. The resulting suspensions were applied to historical papers from several centuries with different extents of damage. The paper-nanocellulose composites were characterized with regard to their optical and microscopic integrity and by physical and chemical analyses. The treatment of mechanical damage and the consolidation of weakened paper areas could be realized by the application of a nanocellulose suspension without an additional adhesive. The results of the treatment depend on the type of nanocellulose, on the paper material, on processing and application techniques. The paper discusses the applicability and stability of the differently prepared nanocellulose suspensions, also with regard to their mode of application and long-term performance. Advantages and limitations are addressed in detail.

On the potential of using nanocellulose for consolidation of painting canvases

“…The coating with 2 CNF layers can be considered as an acceptable level of consolidation as well. Such stiffening effect is well in line with previous studies (Völkel et al, 2017;Nechyporchuk, Yu, et al, 2017).…”

“…The interest in using nanocellulose for restauration of cellulosic materials has been increasing lately. Nanocellulose has recently been employed for consolidation of historical papers (Santos et al, 2015;Dreyfuss-Deseigne, 2017;Völkel, Ahn, Hähner, Gindl-Altmutter, & Potthast, 2017).…”

Evaluation of the Mechanical, Physical, and Anti-Fungal Properties of Flax Laboratory Papersheets with the Nanoparticles Treatment

“…A nanocellulose (NCL) suspension without an additional adhesive can be used to treat and consolidate weakened areas in paper [24]. NCL was used as a strengthening agent in paper, coating applications, and surface sizing due to its high tensile strength [25].…”

Combining phytate treatment and nanocellulose stabilization for mitigating iron gall ink damage in historic papers

“…Hence, their material properties are very interesting to paper conservators. So far, nanocellulose has been applied as dry film with adhesives [32,33] or as aqueous suspension [34][35][36]. With regard to the latter, we have recently developed a protocol to stabilize damaged paper without using additional adhesives [36].…”