Volatile aldehydes are produced during degradation of paper-based materials. Five employees were also provided with personal passive samplers to investigate employees’ exposure to volatile aldehydes. It was evident that in repositories and particularly in archival boxes, the concentration of VOCs and acetic acid was much higher than the concentration of outdoor-generated pollutants. This indicates that further work on the pro-degradative effect of VOCs on heritage materials is necessary.
COBISS.SI-ID: 11111111
We successfully transferred and applied -omics concepts to the study of material degradation, in particular historic paper. Using supervised and unsupervised methods of multivariate data analysis, we were able to quantitatively correlate volatile degradation products with properties important for the preservation of historic paper: rosin, lignin and carbonyl group content, degree of polymerization of cellulose, and paper acidity.
COBISS.SI-ID: 29134853
The emissions of furfural and acetic acid from cellulose were studied using solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. While a number of VOCs are emitted from paper under conditions of natural or accelerated degradation, two compounds were confirmed to be of particular diagnostic value: acetic acid and furfural. The emissions of furfural are shown to correlate with pH of the cellulosic environment.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33296901
Using gas chromatographic analysis of the atmosphere surrounding parchment during oxidation, we provide the experimental evidence on the production of volatile aldehydes, which can be the products of lipid autoxidation. Oxidation of parchment with different aldehyde emissions was additionally followed in situ using chemiluminometry and the same techniques were used to evaluate the oxidation of differently delipidised parchment.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30426117
Iron gall inks are characterised by high contents of acids and transition metals, promoting degradation of cellulose due to hydrolysis and oxidation, respectively. We showed that while the emissions of volatile degradation compounds from inks are less intense than those of surrounding paper, ink does promote the degradation of cellulose across big distances. We were able to link this to emission of reactive oxygen species, probably hydrogen peroxide.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33496837