Polyelectrolyte Coatings—A Viable Approach for Cultural Heritage Protection

Abstract

The continuous degradation of cultural heritage artifacts (due to different factors, including the rising air pollution, climate change or excessive biological activity, among others) requires the continuous development of protection strategies, technologies and materials. In this regard, polyelectrolytes have offered effective ways to fight against degradation but also to conserve the cultural heritage objects. In this review, we highlight the key developments in the creation and use of polyelectrolytes for the preservation, consolidation and cleaning of the cultural heritage artifacts (with particular focus on stone, metal and artifacts of organic nature, such as paper, leather, wood or textile). The state of the art in this area is presented, as well as future development perspectives.

Polyelectrolytes for Environmental, Agricultural, and Medical Applications

“…Other studies have utilized sodium alginate, chitosan, and activated carbon composite materials for the sustained release of humic acid to provide soil remediation and increase agricultural production with the addition of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter [91][92][93]. Significant progress has been made in natural polyelectrolyte materials and the derivatives of natural products for environmental applications, aiming to add value to these materials and develop new contaminant removal technologies [94,95].…”