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New bio-based polymers used as consolidants for waterlogged archaeological wood were studied and their performance on real wooden samples was assessed. In particular, three oligoamides (oligo ethylene- l -tartaramide, oligo esamethylene- l -tartaramide and copolymer between ethylenediamine, adipic and tartaric acids) and allyl α,α′-trehalose/vinyl alcohol (ATR/VOH) copolymer were selected as consolidants. The affinity for wood and the reversibility of the treatments were evaluated together with certain physical properties of treated wood, i.e. maximum water content (MWC), basic density (ρb) and volumetric shrinkage (βv). A specific diagnostic protocol was optimized in order to obtain reproducible and reliable results. A good affinity for a degraded wood rich in lignin was demonstrated for all tested consolidants. For what concerns the reversibility of the treatments, the oligoamides showed higher reversibility than the ATR/VOH copolymer. The penetration ability was good for all selected products. Good results in terms of MWC reduction and ρb increase were obtained with the oligo esamethylene- L -tartaramide, the oligo ethylene- L -tartaramide and the ATR/VOH copolymer.

Oligoamides based on natural raw materials, L-lysine and L-tartaric acid, were synthesized using one-pot processes. An L-lysine diketopiperazine structure was obtained with good selectivity without protection/deprotection steps. Reactions were performed using two methods, the first involving the use of solvent and catalyst under a nitrogen atmosphere, the second exploiting the “raw” monomers under vacuum. The reaction products were characterized through FT-IR, NMR and MALDI spectroscopies, acid–base titration, SEC and polarimetric analyses. Thermal properties were evaluated by DSC and TGA analyses.

Allyl saccharide/vinyl copolymers were synthesized using renewable feedstocks (α,α′-trehalose and d -glucose) to obtain ‘green monomers’. Properly designed synthetic procedures were used to obtain copolymers with high purity and without protection/deprotection steps in agreement with the principles of green chemistry and industrial sustainability. The use of saccharide derivatives as monomers allowed products to be obtained that showed high affinity and compatibility for the cellulosic substrates, like paper or wood, and that were suitable for applications like adhesion or consolidation in the field of cultural heritage. All reaction products were characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopies and SEC analyses, while thermal properties were evaluated by DSC analyses.

New Ru(II) complexes, bearing two monophosphines, characterized by different solubility properties, were synthesized and applied to catalyze hydrogenation reactions of various functional groups under biphasic reaction conditions. The catalyst was successfully confined either in the water or fluorinated solvent phase, making its separation very easily and thus obtaining the reaction products free of catalyst.