Abstract
Concerns about the stability of plastic artefacts are commonly expressed when discussing the conservation of modern materials. One of the factors affecting the degradation of plastics is the presence of soil, degradation products and other contaminants on the surface. Cleaning treatments for plastic artefacts may therefore increase their stability as well as improving their visual appearance. While past studies have shown that dry, aqueous and solvent cleaning can visibly damage a plastic surface, the chemical and physical changes occurring to the surface at the micro-scale have been largely unexplored. In this work time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF–SIMS) has been used in conjunction with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the effect of cleaning treatments on the surface of sheet polystyrene. Chemometric analysis of the ToF–SIMS data reveals the presence of surfactant residues and contamination from cleaning agents while physical damage in the form of scratching has been characterised using AFM and SEM. It is anticipated such work will assist in informing future conservation treatments for plastics.
Highlights
Plastic artefacts are found in many of the world’s museums and heritage institutions [1,2,3]
A negative Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) spectrum is shown in Fig. 1b and displays peaks at Cn− and CnH−, which are characteristic of hydrocarbon polymers [11]
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of the untreated polystyrene surface are shown in Fig. 2a, b
Summary
Plastic artefacts are found in many of the world’s museums and heritage institutions [1,2,3]. Physical contact with the surface via a conservation treatment such as cleaning has the potential to damage the artefact or to introduce detrimental changes to the surface. This work examines the effect of cleaning on one plastic, polystyrene, due to its presence in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) [1]. An EUFP7-funded project entitled ‘Preservation of plastic artefacts in museum collections’ (POPART) [5], examined the effect of both dry and wet cleaning treatments on a range of plastics, including high impact polystyrene (HIPS). Organic solvents were effective, ethanol and 2-propanol, they introduced scratches to artificially soiled samples
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