1. A new bio-based organogel for the removal of wax coating from indoor bronze surfaces
- Author
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Emilio Tagliavini, Chiara Samorì, Monica Galeotti, Giorgia Sciutto, Laura Mazzocchetti, Paola Galletti, Emilio Catelli, Silvia Prati, Jia Yiming, Simone Porcinai, Rocco Mazzeo, Loris Giorgini, Yiming J., Sciutto G., Prati S., Catelli E., Galeotti M., Porcinai S., Mazzocchetti L., Samori C., Galletti P., Giorgini L., Tagliavini E., and Mazzeo R.
- Subjects
Cleaning agent ,Archeology ,Materials science ,lcsh:Fine Arts ,lcsh:Analytical chemistry ,Mixing (process engineering) ,Conservation ,engineering.material ,Polyhydroxyalkanoate ,01 natural sciences ,Green organogel ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Coating ,0103 physical sciences ,Wax-based coatings ,Wax ,Biodiesel ,lcsh:QD71-142 ,010304 chemical physics ,Polyhydroxyalkanoates ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Indoor bronzes ,0104 chemical sciences ,Solvent ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Indoor bronze ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,engineering ,lcsh:N ,Dimethyl carbonate ,Thickening agent - Abstract
In this research, we propose an advanced system for the cleaning of wax-based coatings applied on indoor bronzes. To this aim we developed a new kind of eco-friendly gel based on PHB (poly-3-hydroxybutyrate) used as thickening agent, biodiesel (BD) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC). BD is a mixture of methyl esters obtained from palm oil, which acts as cleaning agent while DMC was added as additional solvent to partially solubilize PHB and forming a gelly phase. For the first time a PHB-based gel obtained by mixing two solvents with different proprieties was proposed, expanding the range of possible formulations, that can be used according to the specific restoration purpose. After the preliminary characterization of chemical and physical properties of the gel, an ad hoc analytical protocol was implemented to evaluate both the cleaning efficiency and the release of residues on the treated surfaces. Standard samples were prepared following ancient recipes and submitted to spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis before and after the cleaning procedures. Finally, the performances of PHB-DMC/BD gel were assessed on a real case of study presenting a wax-based coating: the Pulpito della passione attributed to Donatello and dated back to 1460. In situ analysis demonstrated the high cleaning efficiency of the proposed systems also for the removal of aged coatings.
- Published
- 2019