Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials: an overview for cultural heritage

The application of new technologies and nanomaterials on artworks is challenging and stimulating. The material complexity characteristic of artworks leads conservators to continuously adapt or develop new solutions and formulations idoneous for the specific issue, relative to the conservation of examined artworks. In this chapter, different case studies will be presented, representative of the potentiality related to the concept of nano. In the first part, nanotechnologies, related to nanostructures or which have a resolution of nanosize, are applied to different art materials to understand their composition or to answer other conservative queries. In the second part, the application of nanostructured materials for conservation treatments, from cleaning procedures to consolidation, are presented. The cases chosen are useful to highlight the critical points that should be considered and faced during a restoration project, offering an overview on a world that is rapidly acquiring a leading role in the field of conservation.