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NMR investigation of degradation processes of ancient and modern paper at different hydration levels

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Abstract

The degradation process of cellulose-made materials was investigated by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, with particular emphasis on the role of water and on the hydration mechanism of cellulose fibrils. To accomplish this, the structure and dynamics of water within ancient and modern samples with different aging histories were investigated. The results mainly indicated that hydrolytic and oxidative reactions provoked the formation of acidic by-products. Furthermore, degradation processes were enhanced by higher amounts of water giving a progressive consumption of the amorphous regions of the cellulose. We propose NMR experiments as a benchmark for characterization of the degradation state of paper, as well as for investigating the effectiveness of restoration treatments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e Librario (Roma, Italy) for their support. J. Łojewska is kindly acknowledged for providing the P2 samples. D.M.’s activity was carried out within the framework of the NANORESTART project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 646063.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consorzio interuniversitario per lo sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase - CSGI, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy

    Domenico Mallamace

  2. Dipartimento MIFT, Sezione di Fisica, Università di Messina, Viale F. Stagno D’Alcontres 31, 98166, Messina, Italy

    Sebastiano Vasi, Francesco Mallamace & Carmelo Corsaro

  3. Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Unit Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy

    Mauro Missori

  4. CNR-IPCF Messina, Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici, Viale F. Stagno D’Alcontres 37, 98158, Messina, Italy

    Francesco Mallamace & Carmelo Corsaro

  5. Center for Polymer Studies and Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Francesco Mallamace

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  1. Domenico Mallamace
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  2. Sebastiano Vasi
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  3. Mauro Missori
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  4. Francesco Mallamace
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  5. Carmelo Corsaro
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Correspondence to Domenico Mallamace.

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Mallamace, D., Vasi, S., Missori, M. et al. NMR investigation of degradation processes of ancient and modern paper at different hydration levels. Front. Phys. 13, 138202 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11467-017-0686-6

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