Unveiling the composition of historical plastics through non-invasive reflection FT-IR spectroscopy in the extended near- and mid-Infrared spectral range

Rosi, Francesca; Miliani, Costanza; Gardner, Peter; Chieli, Annalisa; Romani, A.; Ciabatta, Michela; Trevisan, Rafaela; Ferriani, Barbara; Richardson, E. Greer; Cartechini, Laura

doi:10.1016/j.aca.2021.338602

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Amongst the many types of plastics, polyurethane, unsaturated polyester, plasticized poly(vinyl chloride), poly(methyl methacrylate) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) are those used most frequently in artworks, artistic installations and design objects [ 6 ]. Non-invasive analytical investigations carried out in the last few years at Triennale Milano Museo del Design Italiano [ 7 ] and Museo Kartell within the MOLAB access activity of the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (ERIHS) [ 8 ], revealed that ABS is one of the most employed materials in a wide variety of design objects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS

Sabatini,

Pizzimenti,

Bargagli

et al. 2023

Polymers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in several everyday life applications; moreover, it is also one of the most employed plastics in contemporary artworks and design objects. In this study, the chemical and thermal properties of an ABS-based polymer and its photo-degradation process were investigated through a multi-analytical approach based on thermal, mass spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. LEGO® building blocks were selected for studying the ABS properties. First, the composition of unaged LEGO® bricks was determined in terms of polymer composition and thermal stability; then, the bricks were subjected to UV–Vis photo-oxidative-accelerated ageing for evaluation of possible degradation processes. The modifications of the chemical and thermal properties were monitored in time by a multi-technique approach aimed at improving the current knowledge of ABS photodegradation, employing pyrolysis online with gas chromatography and evolved gas analysis, coupled with mass spectrometric detection (Py-GC-MS and EGA-MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and corroborated by external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy. The multimodal approach provided new evidence on the two-step degradation pathway proposed for ABS, defining molecular markers for polybutadiene oxidation and styrene-acrylonitrile depolymerization. Moreover, the results highlighted the feasibility of correlating accurate compositional and thermal data acquired by bulk techniques with external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy as a non-invasive portable tool to monitor the state of conservation of plastic museum objects in-situ.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS

Sabatini,

Pizzimenti,

Bargagli

et al. 2023

Polymers

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Identification of photographic material by established attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy has been extensively published, and various photographic techniques, such as albumen, collodion on paper or silver-gelatin have been examined in detail [8][9][10]. In addition, these instruments do not only provide the ATR mode, but also offer various external reflection (ER) techniques for contactless measurements [11][12][13][14][15]. While these techniques are adequate for the identification of historic polymers in most objects, photographic film represents a significant challenge for infrared spectroscopy due to both sides of the film support commonly being covered with layers of gelatin: silver halide emulsion on the front side and anti-curl layer on the back [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advantages of External Reflection and Transflection over ATR in the Rapid Material Characterization of Negatives and Films via FTIR Spectroscopy

Méndez

Allscher

2022

Polymers

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The identification of film support material is of utmost importance for evidence-based collection management in cultural heritage institutions, especially the identification of cellulose nitrate for fire safety reasons, as nitrate is highly flammable and deteriorates over time. Cellulose nitrate film was used by photographers and movie filmmakers from its release in the 1880s to the 1950s. Cellulose acetate, being called safety film, gradually began to replace cellulose nitrate, as it is not flammable. Despite its non-flammable properties, cellulose acetate also deteriorates in hazardous ways. Therefore, identification of cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate in collections is imperative for preservation and risk management to collections and humans. Large photographic collections can easily contain several thousand negatives or more, so a rapid, non-invasive and reliable method is needed. Traditional identification methods, such as destructive chemical tests, are sometimes unreliable, and spectroscopic analyses are normally time-consuming. To overcome these issues, rapid material characterization was performed in transflection mode with a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer equipped with an external reflectance module and an additional aluminum-foil reflector. With this newly developed method, the support material (cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate and polyester) of about 99.8% of all films can be determined within two seconds of measuring time, without any further spectral processing. Very distinctive spectral patterns are obtained with this new method, regardless of which side of the film is being analyzed. A simple visual inspection of the raw spectrum is usually sufficient to determine the film support identity. A detailed comparison of the various FTIR techniques shows the advantages of the transflection measurement for the material characterization of film support layers. This newly developed method enables the non-invasive, rapid and unambiguous material identification of even large film collections in a short time.

show abstract

Influence of image density and interfacial surfaces on ER-FTIR spectra of 19th century photographic print processes

Walker

Berrie

2023

Journal of Cultural Heritage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Unveiling the composition of historical plastics through non-invasive reflection FT-IR spectroscopy in the extended near- and mid-Infrared spectral range

Cited by 3 publications

References 53 publications

A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS

A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS

Advantages of External Reflection and Transflection over ATR in the Rapid Material Characterization of Negatives and Films via FTIR Spectroscopy

Influence of image density and interfacial surfaces on ER-FTIR spectra of 19th century photographic print processes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About