Abstract
Waterlogged archaeological wood is often in need of consolidation prior to drying to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the object. There is a need for new greener materials (than for example polyethylene glycol) and methods for consolidation to be developed. The use of wood-based components could provide good interaction between the consolidant and the remaining wood structure and would also support a shift away from fossil fuel-based materials to those with more sustainable sources. Based on this, lignin-like structures have been investigated for their ability to consolidate waterlogged archaeological wood. The in situ formation of a lignin-like material has been carried out using isoeugenol polymerised by horse radish peroxidase in aqueous solution. The formation of the oligomeric/polymeric materials within the wood following this reaction has been determined by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infra Red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The oligomers remaining in solution have been characterised by ATR-FTIR and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as well as analytical ultracentrifugation, showing that they have a weight average Mw of 0.4–0.9 kDa and a lignin-like structure rich in the β-5′ moiety. Therefore, this approach is proposed as a basis to further develop a green consolidation method for waterlogged archaeological wood.
Highlights
Waterlogged archaeological wood is often in need of consolidation prior to drying to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the object
In order to determine the activity of horse radish peroxidase (HRP) towards isoeugenol, the polymerisation was first carried out in the absence of archaeological wood, Fig. 1c
Most notable were the emergence of bands at 1732, 1651 and 1331 cm−1 which are assigned to an aldehyde at the terminal end of the oligomers, a conjugated alkene and a C-O stretch respectively
Summary
Waterlogged archaeological wood is often in need of consolidation prior to drying to prevent shrinkage and cracking of the object. The oligomers remaining in solution have been characterised by ATR-FTIR and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy as well as analytical ultracentrifugation, showing that they have a weight average Mw of 0.4–0.9 kDa and a lignin-like structure rich in the β-5′ moiety. This approach is proposed as a basis to further develop a green consolidation method for waterlogged archaeological wood. PEG itself, is not toxic and is water soluble, but as part of the consolidation treatment a large quantity of PEG that has not impregnated the wood, is wasted It is not a natural biological polymer. Our group has previously reported preliminary work into the use of synthetic lignin-like oligomers (dehydrogenated polymers, DHPs) for the consolidation of waterlogged archaeological wood[25,26]
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