Abstract
Cellulose nitrate (CN) is an intrinsically unstable material that puts at risk the preservation of a great variety of objects in heritage collections, also posing threats to human health. For this reason, a detailed investigation of its degradation mechanisms is necessary to develop sustainable conservation strategies. To investigate novel probes of degradation, we implemented deep UV photoluminescence micro spectral-imaging, for the first time, to characterize a corpus of historical systems composed of cellulose nitrate. The analysis of cinematographic films and everyday objects dated from the nineteenth c./early twentieth c. (Perlov's collection), as well as of photo-aged CN and celluloid references allowed the identification of novel markers that correlate with different stages of CN degradation in artworks, providing insight into the role played by plasticizers, fillers, and other additives in stability. By comparison with photoaged references of CN and celluloid (70% CN and 30% camphor), it was possible to correlate camphor concentration with a higher rate of degradation of the cinematographic films. Furthermore, the present study investigates, at the sub-microscale, materials heterogeneity that correlates to the artworks' history, associating the different emission profiles of zinc oxide to specific color formulations used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Highlights
Cellulose nitrate (CN) is an intrinsically unstable material that puts at risk the preservation of a great variety of objects in heritage collections, posing threats to human health
We observed a linear correlation between those two parameters showing that quantification of the degradation state of CN can be assessed through the ratio between these two bands ( I425nm/I510nm), Supplementary Fig. S4: the higher the intensity of the CN2 band at 510–520 nm over the first band CN1, the higher the extent of degradation when compared with the degree of substitution (DS) values obtained by infrared spectroscopy
The present study here describes the implementation of synchrotron deep UV photoluminescence micro spectralimaging for investigating (DUV-μPL), at the sub-microscale, cellulose nitrate-based objects’ material heterogeneity that correlates to its history
Summary
Cellulose nitrate (CN) is an intrinsically unstable material that puts at risk the preservation of a great variety of objects in heritage collections, posing threats to human health For this reason, a detailed investigation of its degradation mechanisms is necessary to develop sustainable conservation strategies. Its flexibility and dimensional stability led to its extensive use as a new photographic and cinematographic medium for films, being present in image heritage collections in archives and museums[3,4] It was widely used between the 1890s and 1920s for design pieces and everyday objects, all testimonies of our material culture, Figs. Celluloid attracted artists like Naum Gabo and Antoine Pevsner to creating sculptures that are preserved in museums[5] This heritage may be at risk, as we do not yet know what factors trigger an irreversible degradation leading to the total loss of these precious objects. This pin belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.)
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