Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings
When exposed to air, silver artifacts undergo an unpleasant darkening and shiny loss, commonly known as tarnishing. At the present, the development of protective coatings by using eco-friendly and biocompatible materials, able to ensure high transparency and to hinder the degradation of silver objec...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/22/14454 |
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| author | Francesca Boccaccini Chiara Giuliani Marianna Pascucci Cristina Riccucci Elena Messina Maria Paola Staccioli Gabriel Maria Ingo Gabriella Di Carlo |
| author_facet | Francesca Boccaccini Chiara Giuliani Marianna Pascucci Cristina Riccucci Elena Messina Maria Paola Staccioli Gabriel Maria Ingo Gabriella Di Carlo |
| author_sort | Francesca Boccaccini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When exposed to air, silver artifacts undergo an unpleasant darkening and shiny loss, commonly known as tarnishing. At the present, the development of protective coatings by using eco-friendly and biocompatible materials, able to ensure high transparency and to hinder the degradation of silver objects, remains a huge challenge. In this study, chitosan was used for the first time to realize sustainable coatings for silver protection. Both pure and benzotriazole-containing chitosan coatings were prepared and applied on sterling silver disks. A commercial product based on acrylic resin was used as a reference. The aesthetic features and protective properties of these coatings were evaluated by performing two different types of aging treatments. In particular, the assessment of the protective efficacy was carried out by reproducing both highly aggressive polluted environments and real-like museums’ storage conditions. In the first case, chitosan-based coatings with benzotriazole performed better, whereas in storage conditions all the chitosan films showed comparable efficacy. Compositional, morphological and structural analyses were used to evaluate the protective properties of the coatings and to detect any physical or chemical modifications after the aging treatments. Our findings reveal that the two different testing methods provide complementary information. Moreover, chitosan coatings can achieve protective efficacy comparable with that of the commercial product but using non-toxic solvents and a renewable biopolymer. Chitosan coatings, designed for cultural heritage conservation, are thus promising for the protection of common sterling silver objects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:15:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c2cafa126aa42378aa8a424242e2865 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:15:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c2cafa126aa42378aa8a424242e28652023-11-24T08:44:36ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-11-0123221445410.3390/ijms232214454Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective CoatingsFrancesca Boccaccini0Chiara Giuliani1Marianna Pascucci2Cristina Riccucci3Elena Messina4Maria Paola Staccioli5Gabriel Maria Ingo6Gabriella Di Carlo7Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyInstitute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials (ISMN), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo, ItalyWhen exposed to air, silver artifacts undergo an unpleasant darkening and shiny loss, commonly known as tarnishing. At the present, the development of protective coatings by using eco-friendly and biocompatible materials, able to ensure high transparency and to hinder the degradation of silver objects, remains a huge challenge. In this study, chitosan was used for the first time to realize sustainable coatings for silver protection. Both pure and benzotriazole-containing chitosan coatings were prepared and applied on sterling silver disks. A commercial product based on acrylic resin was used as a reference. The aesthetic features and protective properties of these coatings were evaluated by performing two different types of aging treatments. In particular, the assessment of the protective efficacy was carried out by reproducing both highly aggressive polluted environments and real-like museums’ storage conditions. In the first case, chitosan-based coatings with benzotriazole performed better, whereas in storage conditions all the chitosan films showed comparable efficacy. Compositional, morphological and structural analyses were used to evaluate the protective properties of the coatings and to detect any physical or chemical modifications after the aging treatments. Our findings reveal that the two different testing methods provide complementary information. Moreover, chitosan coatings can achieve protective efficacy comparable with that of the commercial product but using non-toxic solvents and a renewable biopolymer. Chitosan coatings, designed for cultural heritage conservation, are thus promising for the protection of common sterling silver objects.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/22/14454green polymerssilver alloychitosan coatingscorrosion inhibitionartifacts conservation |
| spellingShingle | Francesca Boccaccini Chiara Giuliani Marianna Pascucci Cristina Riccucci Elena Messina Maria Paola Staccioli Gabriel Maria Ingo Gabriella Di Carlo Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings International Journal of Molecular Sciences green polymers silver alloy chitosan coatings corrosion inhibition artifacts conservation |
| title | Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings |
| title_full | Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings |
| title_fullStr | Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings |
| title_short | Toward a Green and Sustainable Silver Conservation: Development and Validation of Chitosan-Based Protective Coatings |
| title_sort | toward a green and sustainable silver conservation development and validation of chitosan based protective coatings |
| topic | green polymers silver alloy chitosan coatings corrosion inhibition artifacts conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/22/14454 |
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