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Bargagli I, Alunni Cardinali M, Di Tullio V, Doherty B, Paolantoni M, Fioretto D, Proietti N, Sabatini F, Miliani C, Storace E, Russo S, Trevisan R, Vannini A, Cartechini L, Comez L, Rosi F. Assessing Mechanochemical Properties of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Items in Cultural Heritage Through a Multimodal Spectroscopic Approach. APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY 2024:37028241267325. [PMID: 39314077 DOI: 10.1177/00037028241267325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
A multimodal spectroscopic approach is proposed to correlate the mechanical and chemical properties of plastic materials in art and design objects, at both surface and subsurface levels, to obtain information about their conservation state and to monitor their degradation. The approach was used to investigate the photo-oxidation of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a plastic commonly found in many artistic and design applications, using ABS-based LEGO bricks as model samples. The modifications of the chemical and viscoelastic properties of ABS during photoaging were monitored by correlative Brillouin and Raman microspectroscopy (BRaMS), combined with portable and noninvasive broad-range external reflection infrared (IR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry, directly applicable in museums. BRaMS enabled combined measurements of Brillouin light scattering and Raman spectroscopy in a microspectroscopic setup, providing for the coincident probe of the chemical and mechanical changes of ABS at the sample surface. NMR relaxometry allowed for noninvasive measurements of relaxation times and depth profiles which are directly related to the molecular mobility of the material. Complementary chemical information was acquired by external reflection IR spectroscopy. The simultaneous probe of the chemical and mechanical properties by this multimodal spectroscopic approach enabled us to define a decay model of ABS in terms of compositional changes and variation of stiffness and rigidity occurring with photodegradation. The knowledge acquired on LEGO samples has been used to rate the conservation state of ABS design objects noninvasively investigated by external reflection Fourier transform IR spectroscopy and NMR relaxometry offered by the MObile LABoratory (MOLAB) platform of the European Research Infrastructure of Heritage Science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Bargagli
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC), CNR, Perugia, Italy
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Martina Alunni Cardinali
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Valeria Di Tullio
- Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio (ISPC), CNR, Montelibretti (Roma), Italy
| | - Brenda Doherty
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC), CNR, Perugia, Italy
| | - Marco Paolantoni
- Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Daniele Fioretto
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
- Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM), CNR, Perugia, Italy
| | - Noemi Proietti
- Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio (ISPC), CNR, Montelibretti (Roma), Italy
| | - Francesca Sabatini
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC), CNR, Perugia, Italy
| | | | | | - Sara Russo
- Dipartimento di Storia, Archeologia, Geografia, Arte e Spettacolo, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy
| | | | | | - Laura Cartechini
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC), CNR, Perugia, Italy
| | - Lucia Comez
- Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IOM), CNR, Perugia, Italy
| | - Francesca Rosi
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC), CNR, Perugia, Italy
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Sabatini F, Pizzimenti S, Bargagli I, Degano I, Duce C, Cartechini L, Modugno F, Rosi F. A Thermal Analytical Study of LEGO ® Bricks for Investigating Light-Stability of ABS. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:3267. [PMID: 37571161 PMCID: PMC10422395 DOI: 10.3390/polym15153267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in several everyday life applications; moreover, it is also one of the most employed plastics in contemporary artworks and design objects. In this study, the chemical and thermal properties of an ABS-based polymer and its photo-degradation process were investigated through a multi-analytical approach based on thermal, mass spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques. LEGO® building blocks were selected for studying the ABS properties. First, the composition of unaged LEGO® bricks was determined in terms of polymer composition and thermal stability; then, the bricks were subjected to UV-Vis photo-oxidative-accelerated ageing for evaluation of possible degradation processes. The modifications of the chemical and thermal properties were monitored in time by a multi-technique approach aimed at improving the current knowledge of ABS photodegradation, employing pyrolysis online with gas chromatography and evolved gas analysis, coupled with mass spectrometric detection (Py-GC-MS and EGA-MS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and corroborated by external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy. The multimodal approach provided new evidence on the two-step degradation pathway proposed for ABS, defining molecular markers for polybutadiene oxidation and styrene-acrylonitrile depolymerization. Moreover, the results highlighted the feasibility of correlating accurate compositional and thermal data acquired by bulk techniques with external reflection FT-IR spectroscopy as a non-invasive portable tool to monitor the state of conservation of plastic museum objects in-situ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Sabatini
- Institute of Chemical Science and Technologies “G. Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Via Elce di Sotto 8, 01628 Perugia, Italy; (F.S.); (I.B.); (L.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Silvia Pizzimenti
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.P.); (C.D.)
| | - Irene Bargagli
- Institute of Chemical Science and Technologies “G. Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Via Elce di Sotto 8, 01628 Perugia, Italy; (F.S.); (I.B.); (L.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Ilaria Degano
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.P.); (C.D.)
| | - Celia Duce
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.P.); (C.D.)
| | - Laura Cartechini
- Institute of Chemical Science and Technologies “G. Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Via Elce di Sotto 8, 01628 Perugia, Italy; (F.S.); (I.B.); (L.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Francesca Modugno
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via G. Moruzzi 13, 56124 Pisa, Italy; (S.P.); (C.D.)
| | - Francesca Rosi
- Institute of Chemical Science and Technologies “G. Natta” (CNR-SCITEC), Via Elce di Sotto 8, 01628 Perugia, Italy; (F.S.); (I.B.); (L.C.); (F.R.)
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Estupiñán Méndez D, Allscher T. Advantages of External Reflection and Transflection over ATR in the Rapid Material Characterization of Negatives and Films via FTIR Spectroscopy. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14040808. [PMID: 35215720 PMCID: PMC8878977 DOI: 10.3390/polym14040808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of film support material is of utmost importance for evidence-based collection management in cultural heritage institutions, especially the identification of cellulose nitrate for fire safety reasons, as nitrate is highly flammable and deteriorates over time. Cellulose nitrate film was used by photographers and movie filmmakers from its release in the 1880s to the 1950s. Cellulose acetate, being called safety film, gradually began to replace cellulose nitrate, as it is not flammable. Despite its non-flammable properties, cellulose acetate also deteriorates in hazardous ways. Therefore, identification of cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate in collections is imperative for preservation and risk management to collections and humans. Large photographic collections can easily contain several thousand negatives or more, so a rapid, non-invasive and reliable method is needed. Traditional identification methods, such as destructive chemical tests, are sometimes unreliable, and spectroscopic analyses are normally time-consuming. To overcome these issues, rapid material characterization was performed in transflection mode with a Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer equipped with an external reflectance module and an additional aluminum-foil reflector. With this newly developed method, the support material (cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate and polyester) of about 99.8% of all films can be determined within two seconds of measuring time, without any further spectral processing. Very distinctive spectral patterns are obtained with this new method, regardless of which side of the film is being analyzed. A simple visual inspection of the raw spectrum is usually sufficient to determine the film support identity. A detailed comparison of the various FTIR techniques shows the advantages of the transflection measurement for the material characterization of film support layers. This newly developed method enables the non-invasive, rapid and unambiguous material identification of even large film collections in a short time.
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