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 ecofriendly 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.

Toward a green and sustainable silver conservation. Development and validation of chitosan-based protective coatings / Boccaccini, Francesca; Giuliani, Chiara; Pascucci, Marianna; Riccucci, Cristina; Messina, Elena; Staccioli, MARIA PAOLA; Maria Ingo, Gabriel; Di Carlo, Gabriella. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES. - ISSN 1422-0067. - 23:22(2022). [10.3390/ijms232214454]

Toward a green and sustainable silver conservation. Development and validation of chitosan-based protective coatings

FRANCESCA BOCCACCINI
;
Maria Paola Staccioli;
2022

Abstract

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 ecofriendly 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.
2022
green polymers; silver alloy; chitosan coatings; corrosion inhibition; artifacts conservation
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Toward a green and sustainable silver conservation. Development and validation of chitosan-based protective coatings / Boccaccini, Francesca; Giuliani, Chiara; Pascucci, Marianna; Riccucci, Cristina; Messina, Elena; Staccioli, MARIA PAOLA; Maria Ingo, Gabriel; Di Carlo, Gabriella. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES. - ISSN 1422-0067. - 23:22(2022). [10.3390/ijms232214454]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1660759
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